Full Circle
by Bad Boy ver9.0
Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive. Story re-edited.
1. Best Laid Plans

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

Agent Hunk of the Umbrella Special Forces quietly inhaled and exhaled thru his gas mask. One of his men, dressed in the same manner as him, was busy going thru a file cabinet. His job was to remove any trace on file that the G-virus was ever there. Meanwhile, Bravo team, was busy in acquiring the actual G-virus itself. Hunk approached one of the desks, pulled out the chair, sat down then laid his MP5 on the desk. Suddenly his radio crackled.

"Sir!"

Annoyed, Hunk responded. "What is it?"

"We're about to enter the main lab area."

"What? Do you want a fucking cookie? Just get it done and get out of there."

"Understood sir. And if we encounter resistance?"

"Introduce your rifle butt to their face."

"Understood sir. Out." Hunk sighed as he stood up. He looked over to the young lieutenant. The man, Steele, was new to the unit. When they first entered the underground lab, Steele jumped at every little noise which made Hunk chuckle. Hunk retrieved his MP5 and went to the door. He turned to Steele.

"I'll just be a minute. Let me know when your done."

Steele nodded and went back to his work. Hunk pressed a button on the door control and watched as the door hissed then retracted into the ceiling. Hunk saw two vending machines and a row of seats next to it. Hunk shouldered the gun and dug in his pocket. He produced some crisp bills and a small handful of change. Hunk eyed his selection and inserted the proper amount. Hunk collapsed into a seat. He removed his weapon and set it next to him, he removed his helmet next then his gas mask. Hunk popped the top off the soda and took a sip. Hunk leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, he set the can down next to his boot and ripped open the candy bar. He took a large bite of the candy bar and contemplated some things as he chewed. His radio flared to life again.

"Sir!"

Hunk spit out his candy bar and answered his radio. "Someone better be dead."

"Sir, we have the sample sir. But we've run into a problem."

Hunk sighed. "What kind?"

"Dr. William Birkin has been killed. Sir."

Hunk ran hand over his eyes then replaced his gear. He picked up his weapon and slung it across his back. "I should have taken care of this myself." Hunk ran back into the file room. "Steele, pack it in. We're leaving. Now!" Steele shook then quickly shoved the files into his back pack then slid it on. The two men exited the room and almost collided with the two men Hunk sent to retrieve the sample. Hunk was clearly furious. "Robinson, tell me what the fuck happened. Now!"

"Sir, we entered the lab area and we demanded the sample from Birkin. He refused and produced a pistol. We later discovered that he accidentally knocked over a canister, we assumed he fired at us and we disabled him."

Hodges spoke up, walking in step with Steele. "Disabled him? You emptied the fucking clip into him!"

Hunk stopped them before they got into an argument. "Did your retrieve the sample or not?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. We can salvage something out of this."

The trip to the sewers wasn't a long one. They were almost at the exit when they heard it. A very loud and unhuman roar. It sounded close but at the same time very distant. Steele was about an inch from pissing his pants. "What the fuck was that?"

"Something that probably wants to kill us." The small group began to pick up the pace. Hunk stopped the small group, he turned to Hodges and Robinson. "When you got the sample from Birkin, did you get all of the samples?"

"Yes, sir. We're positive."

The roar sounded again, much closer this time. Hunk pointed to the two with the case. "Move down the southeast tunnel, try and secure a faster route out of here. We'll cover you." The two men nodded and moved down the tunnel. Hunk and Steele heard a roar come from the southeast tunnel followed by gunfire. "Shit!" Hunk ran down the tunnel followed by Steele, suddenly Robertson went flying into a wall. His chest was ripped to shreds. Hunk looked down the tunnel and saw Hodges shooting at a large black mass that was slowly making it's way towards him. Hodges stopped to reloaded and the mass drove a set of claws thru his chest, Hodges' gun fell from his loose fingers then he joined it. Hunk and Steel raised their weapons and fired at the large mass as it roared and charged at them.

None of them cared about the sample case which had fallen and broken open, several unmarked vials had broken on the sewer floor where rats had congregated. The large mass swung the clawed hand with an uppercut and sliced open Steele's chest. Hunk watched as the young man fell to the ground, he looked back up at the large mass as it was about to charge. Hunk ejected his empty magazine and pulled another from his vest. Hunk jumped back as the large mass raked it's large claw across the wall where Hunk had been standing, Hunk backed up against the wall behind him. Hunk ripped off his gas mask. "Come on you fucking cocksucker!" He screamed as he unloaded his weapon at the monster as it charged. Hunk could feel the claws rake his body armor but they didn't land on flesh, the force of the blow sent Hunk reeling into the far wall next to Robertson's lifeless corpse. Hunk watched as the large creature walked right past him, Hunk's final thoughts before he passed out were "Why God? Why didn't you kill me?"

Next Chapter: Like a Bad Dream


	2. Like a Bad Dream

Several hours later...

Claire Redfield sighed as she parked her bike outside of the local diner. She removed her helmet and set it on the seat. She unzipped her leather jacket and looked around, the whole street was deserted.

"Where is everybody?"

She turned around and entered the diner. It was empty in there as well. She heard sounds coming from behind the counter, in the kitchen area.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

She walked around the counter and saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind the entranceway to the kitchen, Claire spotted a kitchen knife on the counter and scooped it up. She held it in an overhead stab position as she moved closer to the door. She gasped as she saw a man dressed as a cook bent over a woman who was dressed as a waitress. Dark blood covered the floor as well as her dress and his hands. The man looked like he was eating something, the woman's stomach had been torn open. The man reached into the dead woman's stomach and pulled out more of whatever he was eating. He stopped in mid-chew and looked up at Claire with cold, dead eyes.

Claire started to back up, still holding the knife now in shaky hands. "Easy pal, I don't want any trouble."

Suddenly something darted out from the kitchen area and leaped over the counter, Claire turned to face it but lowered the knife when she saw it was a little girl. The little girl was wearing a tattered school uniform and her blonde hair was dirty and tangled. The little girl ran forward and wrapped her arms around Claire's waist. Claire almost forgot about the blood covered man who was slowly moving towards the two and moaning as well.

"I said, I don't want trouble!" And with that she drove the knife into the man's chest and into his heart.

Claire let go of the knife and watched as the man looked down at the knife handle which was all that was sticking out then back up at her. He raised his arms and tried to grab her. Claire, not thinking, pushed the man away then scooped up the little girl and ran.

Claire didn't have an idea where to go, she just knew she had to run. Claire saw a door in the back and ran for it hoping it wasn't locked. She slammed her right shoulder into it at full force and was rewarded with the door giving way. She found herself in an alley, she saw her bike to her left but more of those creatures surrounded it. Claire turned to her right and saw an abandoned police car at the end of the alley. Claire along with the little girl ran for it, Claire could hear the creatures behind them get closer and closer. Claire reached the car, opened the door and ushered the little girl in. Claire slammed the door and prayed that the keys were still there. She felt for them in the ignition and nearly cried as she felt the cool metal. She twisted them and the police car roared to life, Claire slammed it into gear and hit the gas as hard as she could. The back tires spun but quickly regained traction, the police car roared off into the night.

Claire started calming down alittle, she glanced over at her passenger who was curled up into a little ball. She laid a comforting hand on her, the little girl briefly tightened up then relaxed. The little girl looked up at Claire who smiled back at her.

"My name's Claire. What's yours?"

"Sherry. Sherry Birkin."

Claire smiled again. "Pleased to meet you."

Claire turned back to the road and turned the wheel to avoid a burning car. Sherry sat up in her seat and buckled her seat belt, her little legs hung over the edge of the seat.

"So, where are we going?"

"To the police station."

"Why?"

"For two reasons: one, my brother might be there. He's a cop. And two, there might be more policemen that can help us there."

Sherry nodded and looked out the window. The sight before her was like out of a terrible nightmare. Normal people were being chased by those creatures that were once normal people, some of the normal people were caught and eaten right before her eyes. Sherry turned and looked out the windshield and was thankful she couldn't see any of that anymore.

Sherry looked over at Claire who was busy trying to raise someone on the radio while trying to drive too. After nothing but hissing noises from the radio, Claire dropped the mic and continued driving. She looked over at Sherry and smiled again who returned the smile. Claire rounded a corner and could see the main entrance for the police station. Claire breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly a man burst from the back seat and latched his hands onto Claire's shoulders. Claire and Sherry screamed in terror as Claire spun the wheel and scraped into the side of a building, the man fell back into his seat but quickly started to come forward again. Claire saw the police station doors ahead and got an idea.

"Sherry! Got your seat belt on?" Sherry nodded and tightened the strap. Claire buckled her own belt. "Hang on!" She yelled as the man came thru the small window again and Claire slammed on the gas pedal.

The solid oak doors exploded in a shower of wood as the patrol car came crashing thru, the car cleared the top step and the front end came crashing down. Claire's eyes widened in fear as she saw the stone fountain come into view. She slammed on the brakes but it was too late, the front end of the car slammed into the lip of the fountain, the undead man was ejected out of the backseat and thru the windshield and into the fountain's statue with a bone crunching smash then fell into the empty fountain. The patrol car came to a rest as gray smoke billowed out from under the hood. Claire leaned back in her seat, a small trickle of blood ran down the left side of her head. The air bag had saved her life. Claire groaned as she unbuckled her safety belt and climbed out of the car, she could dimly hear moaning coming from the gaping hole she left in the wall. Claire rolled across the hood of the car and threw open the passenger door, she unbuckled Sherry's seat belt and picked her up. It wasn't until Claire turned around did she realize that the entrance hall was already a mess. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere, blood and bullet holes covered the walls, shell casings clattered under Claire's boots. Some of the bodies were shot in the head while others had their heads blown off. Claire saw a pair of double doors to her left and saw a light on underneath them. Claire ran over to the doors and thrust her shoulder into them but the doors held, upon closer inspection she could see claw marks and streaks of blood on both of the doors. Claire put Sherry on the ground and threw her shoulder again and again into the doors but they held tightly. Claire gave up and started to look for something to break down the doors with.

She saw a dead cop on the ground with his head blown off, his standard issue pistol still in it's holster. Claire ran over to him and pulled the gun free. She checked it over: it was a Browning HP 9mm handgun. Claire checked the clip to see if it was loaded and was relived that it was. She pulled the slide back, chambering a round. She put her back up against the doors, Sherry wrapped her little arms around Claire's waist. Claire smiled and patted her on the back with her free hand. Claire's head shot up as she saw the first undead walk thru the hole. Claire cocked the hammer back, Sherry's eyes grew wide with fear as more of them came thru the hole.

"Don't peek."

Sherry nodded and buried her face into Claire's side. Claire lined up her target and fired. She missed and watched the bullet strike the wall next to the target. She cursed herself and fired again, this time tagging the zombie's shoulder which made him pause for a second before continuing to come closer. Claire fired again, this time hitting one of them in the kneecap which sent him to the floor and the one behind him who tripped over him. Claire fired again, the pistol jumped in her hand, she scored a hit right into one of their cheeks but it didn't kill the creature. Claire pressed herself harder against the door when suddenly the door behind her disappeared and she fell onto her back taking Sherry with her.

Next Chapter: A Knight in Black


	3. A Knight in Black

Full Circle

Disclaimer: I own this story not the series. Wish I did.

"A Knight in Black"

Claire dimly heard a young male voice call out above her. "See! I told you I heard gunfire!"

"Shut up! Pick them up damnit! I'll cover you!" A rough voice said.

Claire watched as a large man dressed in riot gear stepped over her and Sherry and fired his submachine gun at the approaching horde. Claire felt hands reach down and pick her up along with Sherry, she turned and saw two men dressed in police uniforms start to usher them away. The oldest one, an African-American, called back to the riot cop.

"Come on man! Hurry up!"

The riot cop ejected an empty mag then dropped the whole gun and drew a Glock 21 .45 as he retreated back into the room and slammed the doors shut. He pushed a large chest infront of the door then threw a bench ontop of it. He turned and walked back to the four while Claire could hear the undead scratching at the doors. Claire attempted to catch her breath.

"Thank you." She said to the riot cop. The cop shrugged and jerked his thumb to the younger officer who was busy looking out of a window with his Beretta drawn.

"Thank Mike. He's the one that heard you."

"Best damn ears in the whole department." The African-American cop said.

The riot cop nodded. "That's right Bryan."

Claire looked back over at the riot cop: his uniform and vest were covered in splashes of fresh and dried blood, more than likely not his. His face was obscured by a black balaclava that covered everything but his eyes and a helmet along with a pair of safety glasses too. He reholstered his pistol before moving to the far door, he opened it a crack and peeked thru.

"Clear. The shutters are still holding."

The cop known as Bryan nodded and motioned over to Mike. "Time to go kid."

Mike nodded and went thru the far door after the riot cop. Bryan ushered Claire and Sherry thru the door then locked it behind him after he went thru. Claire and Sherry stayed close to the riot cop as he led them upstairs along a path that Claire knew all too well.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes, miss?"

"Is my brother here?"

"His name?"

"Redfield. Chris Redfield."

The riot cop stopped and turned to Claire. "Your brother is Chris Redfield?"

Claire nodded. "Do you know him?"

The riot cop shook his head. "I know of him. Let's keep moving."

"Is he here?"

The riot cop shook his head. "No, he left about a month ago. Said something about Europe."

Claire was relieved. At least her brother was far away from this madness. "Do you know what's happening out there?"

The cop Mike spoke up from behind her. "Everything's fucked."

The riot cop shot him a look over his shoulder. "Mike! The kid."

"Oh, sorry."

Bryan picked up from there. "Not really sure ma'am. All this happened a couple of hours ago. We've just been trying to survive since then."

"Well, what about help? Is help coming?"

The riot cop stopped as his hand rested on a doorknob. He looked back to Mike and Bryan who shared a somewhat hesitant look. "We'll get to that later. First, let's get Elza to look you two over." He turned the knob and led the two girls into the STARS office. "Mike, Bryan. You two stand guard." The two cops nodded as the riot cop closed the door. Claire looked around the medium sized office. There were 12 desks in there, pushed together. Some of them had papers pushed off or random items sitting on them. Over in the corner was a woman who was busy wrapping a bandage on another cop's arm when she looked up at the riot cop.

"Ah, Detective. Found two more I see?"

The riot cop nodded. "Crashed thru the entrance hall. Made a hell of a ruckus."

Elza sighed. "Anymore get in?"

The riot cop/detective shook his head. "Just more undead."

Elza sighed again. "Alright, want me to check them out?"

"You know it."

Elza nodded and beckoned Claire and Sherry over. "Hello, my name is Elza Walker. I'm a paramedic. What I'm going to do is check you over to see if you have any bite marks. It's how this thing is spread. So, young miss, go behind the curtain and we'll begin."

Sherry looked up at Claire who nodded. "It's okay honey."

The little girl disappeared around the curtain. Claire looked around the room and saw various police officers talking or resting. She counted about 8 officers total. She picked out the riot officer and went over to him. He was leaning against her brother's desk and was removing his helmet.

"Thank you. For saving us."

The cop shrugged. "It's part of the job." He removed the safety glasses then pulled off the hood. Under the hood was a young man who looked older than Claire, he had light brown hair that was matted down and piercing blue eyes. "I'm Leon by the way. Detective Leon Kennedy."

"I'm Claire. That's Sherry."

"Nice to meet you."

Claire looked over at her brother's desk, Leon followed her gaze. Leon opened a drawer close to him and handed her a dark blue notebook.

"If you're looking for this, it's his diary." Claire accepted the diary from him and started flipping thru it. "Back of the book." Leon offered.

Claire flipped to the back of the book, there was a single entry. 'I'm sorry Claire. I have to do this. Please forgive me." Claire closed the book and held it close. Leon put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure he's okay." Claire nodded and looked up at him.

"What are we going to do?"

Leon sighed. "At the moment, try and get out of this hellhole. Elza's done with Sherry, you're next."

Claire went behind the white curtain and sat on a desk pushed up against a wall. Elza started checking over Claire's arms and legs. "What are doing?"

"Checking to see if you've been bitten. It took us alittle while to figure out how this disease was being spread. About an hour ago, a woman was bitten on the arm; took her less than half of that hour to transform into one of them. One of the officers had to put her down."

Claire nodded. She peaked around the curtain at Leon. "What's his story?"

"Ah, Leon. Not really much to say. Transferred here acouple months ago, solved a big case in New York which got him the detective mantle. Don't know why he transferred here though. Now, let's look you over."

Ten minutes later, Claire received a clean bill of health from Elza. Elza handed Claire a belt with a holster, a double magazine holster and a knife sheath. "Here. This belonged to one of the STARS officers here. Rebecca Chambers, she was about your size." Claire accepted the belt from her and clipped it on. She slid her Browning into the holster and went to rejoin Leon who was talking to Bryan.

"I know it's dangerous, but we need to go down there."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't go down there, I'm just saying we don't know what's down there."

"What are you guys talking about?" Leon and Bryan turned to Claire, Leon spoke.

"There's an armory down in the basement near the parking garage. Chief Irons had a majority of the armory redistributed to various locations all over the city. Unfortunately that fat fuck didn't tell us where these locations are. So our best option is the armory."

Bryan cut in. "However, the armory is located in the basement where god knows what is down there. Plus on top of that, the entrance to the basement is on the other side of the department on the first floor. We've only secured this half of the station. Not to mention, the chief is still out there and has already killed two people. One of them was a cop!"

Claire glanced over at Leon. "Doesn't sound good."

Mike cut in as well. "Plus, we don't have the keycard to open the armory with either."

Leon spoke up again. "Getting there is not a problem, it's just getting the door open is."

"Well, there's got to be a way of getting more guns. I mean, we're running dangerously low on ammo." Mike said in a half whisper.

"Thank you Mike for that lovely update." Leon said thru clenched teeth.

Claire tugged on Leon's sleeve. "Detective, what about help? Is it coming?"

Leon led Claire away from the small group over to a corner. Leon rubbed his hand on his chin, he spoke in a low whisper. "I didn't want to say anything infront of the little girl. There isn't any help coming. We lost contact with the Army four hours ago. Nothing but radio static."

Claire looked over at Sherry who was with the paramedic. "So, what do we do?"

Leon sighed. "I don't know. All I know is we need to get these people out of here."

Leon walked back over to Bryan who had the blueprints for the station stretched out on a desk.

"Alright, there must be a way to get to that armory."

Bryan looked up from the blueprints. "Maybe not."

"Whatcha got?"

Bryan pointed to a small room on the first floor. "Here. It's the evidence room. We got a lot of guns collected there."

Leon looked at Mike and Bryan. "It's a plan. We hit the evidence room then the armory. Then what?"

Mike sighed. "I got nothing."

Bryan snapped his fingers. "The sewers!"

Leon and Mike exchanged a puzzled look. "So?" Both men said.

"We can get out thru the tunnels. Find a way out of the city."

Both men liked this idea. Suddenly they heard a crash from downstairs. "We better hurry. We're running out of time."

Leon exited the office first, pistol in hand. Bryan followed behind him with a Remington 870, Mike after him with his service pistol drawn. Claire was behind him with Sherry, Elza and the rest of the police officers. Leon led them downstairs and to the left towards a door hidden in the corner with a plaque next to it that read 'Evidence room'. Leon twisted the doorknob but the door held firm.

"Damnit, who's got the key?"

Bryan cocked his shotgun. "Right here."

Bryan jammed the barrel of the shotgun against the doorknob and fired, the area around the doorknob and the knob itself were blown off. Bryan kicked the door in, darkness filled the room as Bryan fumbled for the light switch. A second later there was a click and the room was lit up.

Filing cabinets lined the back wall, several shelves were up against the left way along with a door that led to the detective's office. On the right wall were gun rack that held rifles of different makes and calibers along with pistols and shotguns as well. Leon picked up clips for his Glock and started searching for bullets for them. Bryan found more shells for his shotgun and a Colt 1911A1 .45 as a backup. Mike found a Mossberg 590 Cruiser and a belt of shells. Claire was given a sawed off Mossberg 500 that held 6 shells and a holster that she could put on her back for an over the shoulder draw from Leon.

The 4 other officers opted to stay behind incase anymore survivors showed up.

Leon nodded. "Any of you got a radio?" One of the officers nodded and held it up. "Good, anybody else shows up, give us a call and get out of the city."

The 3 officers nodded and left the evidence room and went back up to the STARS office. Leon led the others back upstairs and past the STARS office. They passed thru a hallway before entering a large library, corpses dressed in civilian and police officer clothes littered the ground. Spent shell casings littered the ground, bloodstains covered the walls, floors and the books. Everyone stepped carefully over the bodies and made their way to the door. Sherry stopped, crouched down next to the body of a young woman dressed in a tank top and shorts and stared at her. Leon and Claire looked at each other with blank looks. Claire made her way over to Sherry and tried to lead her away. Sherry spoke up, her voice almost a whisper.

"I knew her. She lived next door to me. She was a good person. She could make anybody laugh no matter what. Her name was Diane."

Claire put her hands on Sherry's shoulders. "I'm sorry honey, but we have to go."

Sherry sniffled and did her best to hold back her tears. Claire picked up the girl in her arms, Sherry wrapped her arms around Claire's neck and buried her face into Claire's shoulder. Leon opened the door and looked out.

"Clear."

Sherry whispered in Claire's ear. "We're going to die. Aren't we?"

Claire stopped and looked at Sherry. "I'll protect you sweetheart."

Sherry smiled alittle. "Who's going to protect you?"

Both girls looked over at Leon as he pulled the slide back on his gun. "Me."

Next chapter: "Crushes and Close calls"


	4. Crushes and Close Calls

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

The double doors led out onto a balcony. Leon glanced over the balcony and saw dozens of undead milling around. Leon spotted a door across from them that was ajar. Leon went thru the door first which led to a waiting room.

"Alright, we'll stop here for a minute then we'll keep going."

Sherry and Claire both sat down on one of the benches in the room, Sherry rested her head on Claire's arm, both girls watched as Leon holstered his pistol infront of them then removed his assault vest. He stripped off the upper portion of his BDU's and dropped it to the floor. Claire looked at him in amazement. Under the BDU was a simple black T shirt but Leon's forearms were covered in tattoos. The words 'Right Hand of God' tattooed on his right forearm. Tribal tattoos coiled around his left forearm which ended at his wrist and started at his elbow. Not only that, Leon was buff.

Leon noticed Claire staring at him. "What?"

Claire started to stammer, trying to find an excuse. "It's...just...I...you...I've never"

"Never what?" Leon said as he folded his forearms.

Claire tried to think of a good excuse but the only thing that came out of her mouth was "I've never seen you smile."

Leon blinked and continued to stare at her. "What?" Claire just shrugged. Leon blinked again. "You're a strange woman."

Leon shrugged the assault vest back on, glanced over at Claire again and drew his pistol. Leon opened a door across from the double doors which led to a hallway with a dim red glow at the left end of the hall. The group went to the right away from the glow. Claire looked towards that end.

"What's down there?" Bryan spoke as he walked next to her.

"That's the chief's office. One of our copters crashed into the side of the building and started a fire."

Claire nodded. "I'm sorry."

Bryan nodded in return. "Nothing we could do about it but try to survive."

They went thru a door which led to a hallway with broken glass and bullet casings on the floor. Leon led them to a door across from them, he opened the door a crack and looked out and up.

"We're good."

Claire whispered to Bryan. "Why's he looking up?"

"Some of the local birdlife got the disease in them and went after everyone."

The door led out onto a balcony with a staircase going down. They passed an iron fence when suddenly a zombie collided with the fence and tried to grab Claire, Leon drew his pistol and fired a round into the creature's head causing it to fall backwards. Leon returned his pistol to it's holster.

Claire smiled. "Thank you."

Leon nodded in return. "No problem."

Leon entered the door first followed by Bryan with his shotgun. Claire patted Leon on the shoulder. "Where to now?"

Leon pointed to a set of double door across the room infront of them. "Those lead us back to the main hall. We wanna go right, down the hall and the stairs which lead us to the garage."

Suddenly a dull rumble went thru the building. "The fuck was that?" Elza said as she looked around.

Bryan looked to Leon. "Explosion?"

"Must have been. We better move."

They made their way to the door to their right when another rumble went thru the building again, it felt closer this time.

"Move! Now!" Leon ushered Elza and Mike thru the door, Claire and Sherry not far behind. The double doors leading to the main hall suddenly exploded as something impacted them and was followed by the thing that destroyed them: a missle.

Bryan went thru the door next, Leon pushed Claire and Sherry into the door and onto the floor then threw himself ontop of them. The missle impacted the area near the door and caused the ceiling to collapse and block the doorway. Leon rolled off Claire and Sherry then helped them to their feet.

"What was that Claire?" Sherry asked in between coughs.

Claire shook her head. "I don't know sweetheart."

Leon dusted himself off. "Whatever it was, we can't go back now."

The hallway led the to a set of stairs going down, a flickering light breifly illuminated the landing. The group could hear growling at the bottom of the stairs.

"Bryan, pass me the shotgun. Everyone wait here."

Bryan chambered a round into his shotgun then passed it to Leon. Leon descended the stairs, Claire and Sherry watched as the darkness absorbed him. There was silence for several seconds before they heard "What the fuck?"

Several shotgun booms then pistol fire. A mournful howl echoed up the stairs.

"Leon?" Bryan called.

"Fine. It's safe." After going down the stairs which led to a hallway with several doors at both ends, they found Leon crotched near a small black mass. As they neared, Claire recognized the shape.

"It's a dog."

What lay infront of them could only be described as if someone had unburied a dead dog that had been dead for a couple of years.

Leon nodded. "And it's seen better days. Judging by the state of it, I'd say someone or something had taken several bites of it."

"Think there's anymore?" Mike asked as he looked around with his pistol ready.

Leon shook his head. "Don't know. Maybe not here but maybe in the city. Let's keep moving."

Leon gave Bryan his shotgun back who proceeded to load fresh shells into it. A bullet hit the wall next to Bryan's head causing him to drop to one knee and bring his shotgun to his shoulder. Everyone also dropped to the ground, Leon drew his pistol and located the shooter who fired another acouple of rounds at them. He saw the shooter was at the power room doors and fired twice, both shots hit the door causing the shooter to stop. Leon kept his pistol trained on the shooter.

"Drop your weapon and come out with your hands on your head or we'll fucking kill you!"

They heard a metallic clatter then soft footsteps as a young Asian woman came into view, her hands placed ontop of her head.

The young woman was pushed against the concrete wall as Leon slid a pair of plastic handcuffs over her wrists then tightened them. Leon spun her around.

"Who are you and why did you fire on us?"

"My name is Ada and I thought you were zombies."

Leon scoffed. "Yeah right. Move."

Bryan and Leon approached the armory door, the door was cracked open and something was stuck to the handle.

Bryan bent in closer. "What is AHH!" the object was a hand and an arm grasping the handle.

Leon removed the arm and inspected it. "Who do you think it is?"

Bryan shook his head. "I don't know. Something tells me, he's not alright."

Leon dropped the arm and wiped his hands on his pants. Leon grasped the handle and pulled but couldn't open it. "Bryan."

Bryan nodded and grabbed Leon by the back of his vest. Both men grunted and pulled until the door slid open. Bryan swept the inside of the armory with his shotgun then moved to the side as Leon entered the room followed by Claire and the others. Leon opened a locker and pulled out an M4A1 assault rifle, he checked over the weapon then slung it over his shoulder. He picked up three clips for it as well.

"Alright, find some weapons and ammo. Anything you can find then put them on the table in middle of the room."

Everyone with the exception of Ada, started going thru lockers and boxes. After several minutes of searching, everyone set their findings on the table.

"Okay, what do we have?" Leon muttered.

Claire had found two black duffel bags and three boxes of shotgun shells. Bryan found two boxes of shotgun shells as well, a dozen 9mm Beretta clips and ammo for them and three more clips for Leon's rifle. Elza found a 4 inch .38 special revolver and three boxes of ammo for it. Mike found several more boxes of shotgun shells and four clips for Claire and Ada's Brownings. With all of the ammo combined they had close to eighty shotgun shells, twelve Beretta clips, thirty-six .38 special rounds and six .223 clips. They put the assault rifle clips and forty shotgun shells into one duffel bag and put the other forty plus the twelve Beretta clips into the other bag. Elza took the .38 for herself and dumped the loose rounds into her jacket pocket. Claire took the bag with the rifle clips while Elza took the other bag.

The group exited the armory and made their way to the parking garage when a crash was heard upstairs.

"What the hell was that?" Mike said as they heard several loud thumps that kept getting closer.

"Maybe somebody got thru the wreckage." Suddenly another crash was heard as a large man about 8 feet tall and wearing a long dark green coat came crashing down the stairs then started walking towards them. Leon traded his rifle for Claire's shotgun.

"Hold it right there!" The large man didn't hear him and continued to move towards them. Leon brought the shotgun up and primed it. The large lifted his left hand and curled it into a fist. Leon fired, the buckshot tore a basketball sized hole in the large man's jacket and caused him to stumble back a step. The large man looked down at the hole then up at Leon. Everyone started backing up, the large man rushed forward and slammed his fist into Leon's chest. Leon went flying past everyone, almost taking Claire with him, and slammed into the far wall then face first onto the floor. The shotgun flew from his hands and skidded down the opposite hallway.


	5. A spy in our midst

Full Circle

"A spy in our midst."

Claire and Bryan were by his side in an instant. Both of them seized an arm and dragged him to his feet. Claire put Leon's arm across her shoulders as Bryan let go and brought up his shotgun and fired at the large man. Mike's and Bryan's shotguns roared as they fired multiple rounds at the large man, the dark green jacket continued to rip open as the buckshot slammed into it. The large man stopped suddenly, wobbled then fell flat on his face. Mike and Bryan stopped to reload their shotguns, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Leon stood up, coughing as Claire helped him lean up against a wall.

"You okay?" Elza was by his side in a second.

Leon nodded. "Yeah, just knocked the wind out of me. I'll be fine."

Leon inhaled then grabbed his chest in pain, sharply bending over. Elza started probing his chest, she checked his upper body then started moving down when Leon inhaled sharply. Elza looked up at Claire and shook her head.

"His ribs are broken, not sure how many but I'm guessing three or more. Okay, Leon. Get your shirt off."

Leon shook his head stubbornly. Elza put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Are you serious? You just got jackhammered in the chest. You need medical attention!"

Leon shook his head again. "I'm fine."

Elza gave Claire a look that said 'Alittle help?'

"Detective, please. Let her help you."

Leon stood up. "I'll be alright for now. Mike, Bryan. Go check out the kennels. Take Ada with you."

Bryan nodded and primed his shotgun. Mike grasped Ada by her arm and dragged her along. The three of them left, leaving the door open.

Leon unslung his rifle. "Get going you two."

"What about you?"

"I'm coming. I just want to check our friend here."

"You don't think he's dead?"

Leon shrugged. "I wanna make sure."

Elza nodded and led Claire and Sherry thru the door. Leon went over and scooped up Claire's discarded shotgun, he walked over to the large man and poked him with the barrel.

Claire set Sherry on the hood of a police car. "How are you doing honey?"

Sherry scratched her arm. "I'm hungry."

Claire nodded, she was hungry too. She looked around and spotted a vending machine where they came in.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Claire started digging thru her pockets when she stopped and slammed her boot into the plate glass, she kicked away the excess glass and started taking candy bars. "Always wanted to do that."

Claire handed Sherry a small bag of peanuts then broke into one herself, both girls started munching away. They looked up when they saw Leon come thru the door, toting Claire's shotgun which he promptly returned. Leon sat on the end of the car and motioned Elza over. Elza knew right away what he wanted and started getting out the necessary equipment.

"Okay, detective. Off with the top."

Leon chuckled. "So, you finally got me to take my top off."

This triggered another coughing fit. Claire moved to him but Leon held up a hand. "I'm okay."

Elza looked over to Claire. "Help me with him." Leon unzipped his vest and Claire helped him take it off. He gently pulled his T-shirt up and off, he dropped it on the hood. Elza and Claire softly gasped as they saw Leon's chest.

Leon's chest, stomach and back was covered with scars. Several bruises dotted his chest. There was another tattoo on his back, on his right shoulder that Claire couldn't make it out . Claire gently reached out and touched one of the scars, tracing it. Leon glanced over at his shoulder at her.

"It felt worse than it looks."

Claire turned away from him as Elza started wrapping his midsection with bandages. Claire was used to seeing scars, she had acouple herself, her mother was a nurse also. But Leon was different. She had never seen that many scars on one person before. She turned back in time to see Leon pulling his shirt back on, obscuring her view of the scars. Claire stepped infront of him as he zipped his vest up.

"Did they hurt?"

Leon looked up at her, she could see pain in his eyes. "Some more than others, but overall yes."

Leon stood up and Claire handed him his rifle. Mike and Bryan left the door to the kennels and the cell block open, Leon entered first followed by Claire, Sherry and Elza. Leon opened the door to the kennel and saw Bryan trying to open the manhole cover across from them but to no avail. Leon went over and pulled up on the handle, he grunted as he lifted the lid and pushed it back. Leon looked into the dark hole.

"Claire, pass me your shotgun." Claire removed her shotgun from it's sheath and gave it to him. Leon set his rifle down and climbed down the ladder, shotgun in hand. It was quiet for several seconds before Leon called up. "Looks clear." Claire was the first one down, followed by Sherry and Elza then Mike, Ada and Bryan.

The sewer hallway was dark, a dim light shown around a corner. The smell of mold and other foul odors were slightly overpowering. Sewer water washed over Leon's steel toed boots, he constantly stepped on various sized lumps. He stopped, Claire collided with his back.

"Bryan. Got your flashlight?"

"Yeah, hold on." Bryan passed Claire his flashlight who passed it to Leon, he switched it on and bent down. He picked up one of the lumps and held it up to the light, the lump was the size of his hand and was pale white. Leon dropped the lump and started searching for another one, his hand brushed something hard. He picked it up and held it to the light, it was a sneaker. With a chunk of the leg still attached.

"Leon, what is it?"

Leon dropped the severed leg back into the water. "Nothing you need to know about."

That's when he heard it. A thumping sound, like a padded hammer on cement. Leon shined the light ahead of him, what he saw was impossible: A large spider the size of an armchair. The spider was at the end of the hallway, a good 30 feet. The spider reared back and leaped towards Leon and the group, it closed half of the distance.

"That's a problem."

Leon tossed the flashlight over his shoulder and brought up the shotgun. He fired and watched as the buckshot raked across the spider's back. The spider hissed in anger and charged. Bryan was by Leon's side in an instant. Both men fired at the approaching spider, muzzle flashes brightly illuminated the hallway. The spider recoiled from the multiple entry wounds until it fell over, dark green blood gushing from the multiple holes.

"What the hell was that?" Elza asked.

"Something in the water?" Mike added.

"Come on, let's keep moving before anymore show up." Leon said as he pumped a shell into the firing tube.

He handed the shotgun back to Claire who slid it back into it's holster. Leon drew his pistol and rounded the corner, a set of stairs going up were brightly illuminated. Leon looked back to Bryan.

"Back me up. Rest of you, stay here." Bryan nodded and pumped his shotgun. Leon walked slowly, pistol raised; Bryan behind him with his shotgun pointed to the ground. There were two doors in sight, one to the left and one straight ahead.

"Alright, you take the door on the left and I've got door number two." Leon muttered as he moved to the far door.

Bryan opened the door and looked in, it was a small storeroom with a desk and a tub sized chest. Bryan shut the door and went back out into the hallway. Leon opened his door and looked in, two boilers sat in the middle of the room with a walkway inbetween them. Leon could see a door in the far wall, it was ripped off it's hinges. Leon looked back to Bryan and nodded. Bryan went down stairs and brought everyone up, Leon noticed a hallway to his left. There was a large slot in the side of the wall and a control panel on the other side of the slot. Leon looked back to the group.

"Alright, there's a door in the boiler room that might lead to the sewers. Good news is we know it's the door. Bad news is we don't know what the layout of the sewers is, so stay together and stay close."

While Leon talked, Ada was busy. She had her back pressed up against a wall, she made sure she wasn't being watched. She reached into her belt and removed a small folding knife and began sawing thru her bindings. It took her less than a minute, she dropped the handcuffs and grasped the knife firmly in her hand. Claire was the closest one to her, she could see her pistol tucked into the back of Claire's belt. She looked over at the doorway, at Claire and at Leon was close to the doorway. She made her move. Ada put Claire in a chokehold with her knife hand, pressing the tip to Claire's carotid artery, with the other hand drew her pistol and cocked the hammer back. Leon was the first to train his pistol on her. Elza backed up and pulled Sherry close to her. Bryan and Mike could only watch helplessly. Ada started to move towards the large doorway, taking Claire and using her as a shield. Ada batted her eyes at Leon and gently pressed the knife alittle harder into Claire's neck.

"Careful, hero cop." Leon adjusted his grip on his pistol, staring at Ada with cold eyes.

"Let her go."

"In due time. After I get what I want."

"What do you want?" Elza asked.

Ada nodded to her. "The girl."

Sherry gulped. Leon slowly shook his head, eyes still focused on her.

"No."

Ada cocked an eyebrow at him. "No? Okay." Ada lowered the gun and fired a round into the meat of Claire's right thigh. Claire screamed in pain as the bullet dug it's way in then shot out of the front of her thigh.

"How about now?"

A/N: I felt a little evil writing that last part. I'm going to feel alot worse because I'll be putting Leon and Claire thru the wringer throuout the rest of the story.

Next chapter: Another sewer and a missing man.


	6. Another sewer and a missing man

Full Circle

"Another sewer and a missing man"

Ada batted her eyes again at Leon as she pressed the gun against the area where Claire's kidney was. Leon knew it would be a fatal shot, he couldn't take the chance. He lowered his pistol and slid it back into the holster.

"Sherry, do as she says. Okay honey?"

Sherry nodded and went over to Ada who was now standing just on the other side of the slotted doorway. As soon as Sherry was by her side, Ada shoved Claire forward and slammed a button on the control panel. A steel door shot out of the slot and slammed across the hallway. Leon rushed forward and caught Claire in his arms. Leon looked her over. Her leg was bleeding pretty bad but thankfully it wasn't fatal.

"You alright?"

Claire weakly opened her eyes. "I'm feeling lightheaded."

"It's alright. It's just from the blood loss."

Claire weakly smiled. "You make it sound like that's a good thing."

Leon tried to hide a smirk. "You'll be fine. Can you walk on it?"

Claire shook her head. "It's hurts so much. I've never been shot before."

Leon nodded. "It's not something you get used to. Bryan, get her bag. Mike, grab my rifle."

Both men nodded and grabbed what they needed. Leon scooped Claire up into his arms, Claire wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head against his chest.

Elza came forward. "I should bandage her up."

Leon nodded. "Not here. According to the layout, there should be an office just ahead." Elza nodded and followed in step behind him, Mike and Bryan behind her.

Leon ducked thru the door in the boiler room, the familiar smell of the sewer returned to him.

"Another sewer."

"What?" Claire muttered.

Leon shook his head. "Nothing."

He readjusted his grip and walked down a flight of metal stairs. Elza was close behind him and was followed by Mike and Bryan. Leon looked over his shoulder at Bryan.

"Get ahead of me. I won't be able to get my gun out if need be."

Bryan nodded and moved ahead of Leon, shotgun at the ready. A stone ledge was infront of them, a door was imbedded in the wall. Bryan hopped up first and opened the door, he glanced in.

"Clear."

Leon nodded. "Can you grab Claire?"

Bryan nodded and set his shotgun down then pulled Claire into his arms. Leon helped Mike then Elza up, Mike had to help Leon up. The door opened to reveal a medium sized office, plain and clean of any bodies or blood. Two tables were pushed together in the middle of the room, Bryan laid Claire on one of them and Elza went to work. Leon saw a computer console and several jugs of water near the back. He sat down on the counter and unzipped his vest, he draped it over a chair and leaned back against the console. Leon watched as Elza cleaned and sewed up the gunshot wound, Claire gave him a small wave and a slight smile. Leon returned the wave and walked across the room to a set of lockers. He noticed a small crack behind the lockers and saw they could be moved. Leon stood to the left of the lockers and pushed them, behind the lockers was a nook with a ladder going down.

"Wait here. I'll be back."

Leon climbed down the ladder and drew his pistol. The area around the ladder was a small storeroom with two rows of shelves filled with items, all of them useless. Leon found a box of shotgun shells, which he pocketed, then he spotted it. A box marked 'clips'. He picked up the box and opened it, inside were two fully loaded magazines for a Desert Eagle .44 magnum. Leon discarded the box and pocketed the magazines. "Okay, let's see if we can't find your owner." Leon muttered as he walked around the shelf and stopped. A man lay propped up against a pillar, a Desert Eagle in his hand and a bullet hole in his temple. Leon bent down and picked up the gun, turning it over in his hands. The gun was matte black with a laser sight attached to the trigger guard. He ejected the mag and counted the rounds, six with one missing. Leon removed the man's shoulder rig and donned it himself, two more fully loaded magazines were in the double magazine holster on the side. There was a discarded journal and a pen next to the man. Leon scooped up the journal and flipped to the last page, most of it was covered in blood but Leon could read it just fine.

_Sept. 7__th__ 1998_

_The chief was down here again, he gives me the creeps. He wanted to know how security was which was pretty loose at the moment but I didn't want to piss him off so I told him it was fine. He nodded and patted his pistol, muttering "Good. Good." Evans told me the chief is known for his violent outbursts. Rumor has it the chief put a bullet thru a man's head just for saying hello to him! He scares me. _

_Sept. 12__th__ 1998_

_Got a call today from the head honchos that we need to beef up security. They've been edge lately, can't imagine why, this is a sewer facility. More security guards have been added on. They should be here in acouple of days. I don't like it, Umbrella always sends the worst. Evans tells me I worry too much. I hope he's right._

_Sept. 25__th__ 1998_

_Evans burst into the office today, pale as a ghost. He started babbling about an accident down in the lab, that it got into the sewer system. He handed me a cannon and had one himself, I've never fired a gun before but I learn quick. Evans is a pretty decent shot. Or so he brags._

_Sept. 27__th__ 1998_

_Evans is gone. He got mauled in the sewers. I'm not sure where his body is or if he turned into one of those things. I've sealed myself in this storeroom. I've been bitten. I can feel it inside me. I can think of only one solution. Question is, can I do it?_

That was the final entry. Leon closed the book and laid it on the man's chest. Leon left the storeroom and scaled the ladder again, he climbed up and pushed the lockers back into place.

"What did you find down there?"

Leon adjusted the holster. "Nothing." He looked to his right and saw a small elevator tucked into the corner. The lift could only hold two people at a time. Leon looked over to Claire as he scooped up his vest and slid it back on. "How's your leg?"

Elza spoke. "I cleaned and dressed the wound but I'd like to get her to a hospital."

Leon nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Claire did her best to scoot off the table, with alittle help from Leon. Claire decided to test him, she faked a fall and went right into Leon's arms. Claire wrapped her arms around his neck and collided with his chest.

"Oh, thank you."

Leon slightly blushed. "No problem."

Leon held onto Claire as they boarded the small lift, there was just enough room for the two of them. Leon reached down and depressed a button labeled 'down'. The lift jerked to life and started to lower them slowly down, Leon looked up at Mike and Bryan.

"I'll send it back up in a second."

Bryan nodded and Mike snapped Leon a small salute. The small lift lowered the two into a dull gray hallway, the stone walls appeared to be wet as if the pipes were leaking. Leon slung his rifle across his back and slid Claire's left arm across his shoulders.

"Walk with me."

Claire nodded and looked down at her feet. Leon stepped off the lift and so did Claire, she limped alittle but Leon was kind enough to compensate. Leon pushed the 'up' button on the lift and watched as it rose back up into the ceiling. Leon slowly lifted the duffel bag off Claire's shoulder and slid it on himself, Claire hobbled along with him. Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand, she looked up into Leon's eyes.

"Thank you again."

Leon grunted. "No problem."

They rounded a corner and saw a door up ahead, Leon had Claire lean against him as he turned the knob and pushed door in. They distantly heard the lift come back down.

The door led to a small ledge which Leon helped Claire down then dropped down himself. Claire turned around and gasped. Two men dressed in black lay at her feet, blood and bullet casings littered the ground around them.

"Detective!"

Leon spun on his heel and crouched near one of the dead bodies, he gently turned the body over and read the man's nametag.

"Steele."

Claire leaned on Leon's shoulder. "Who do you think he was?"

"They weren't the Boy Scouts."

Claire scoffed. "Do you always have to answer with sarcasm?"

Leon shrugged as he stood up. "Keeps me calm. Would you prefer me running around like a chicken with his head cut off?"

Claire giggled. "Actually I would."

Leon turned around to hide a smile. "Maybe when this is over I will."

Claire held onto Leon as they found another dead body further back, this one had a nametag labeled "Robertson". An empty case lay next to him, broken vials surrounded it. Claire was about to pick one up when Leon stopped her.

"Better not."

Claire looked around. "So, three guys?"

Leon shook his head. "No. Four. I count three bodies and four submachine guns."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "So someone's missing?"

"Or maybe he's still here." Leon mused.

Bryan and Elza followed by Mike entered the sewer hallway after Leon and Claire made their discovery. Leon motioned Bryan over, the older man nodded and went over to him. Leon spoke in hushed tones.

"Keep an eye on Claire. I'm gonna check out the area ahead." Bryan nodded and went over to Claire who was leaning up against a wall. Leon brought his rifle to his shoulder and turned the corner.

Hunk was in pain, he did his best to hide it but it was no use. He stopped for a minute to gather his bearings and calm his breathing, his wounds did nothing to help. Hunk let his weapon drop, the strap pulled tight. Hunk opened a flap on his vest and removed a small transmitter, he unplugged his headset and plugged it into the transmitter. He hooked the other end of the transmitter into his radio and turned it on, he adjusted the dial and pressed the transmit button.

"HQ, you read?"

There was several seconds of static before a cool, crisp voice answered.

"Trent here. What is your situation?"

Hunk groaned as he collapsed against a wall, Trent's voice filtered thru his headset sounding worried.

"Are you alright Agent?"

Hunk breathed in deeply. "Yes. I'm fine."

"Good. What's your status?"

"Everyone's dead. Birkin has gone rogue and injected himself. He slaughtered everyone."

Trent exhaled over the line. "I see. Far be it from me to belittle human life but did you retrieve a viable sample?"

Hunk exhaled, he knew Trent would get to that. "Affirmative."

Trent's cool yet troubled voice filtered thru Hunk's headset. "Good. En route to heliport?" The heliport on the roof of the Raccoon City Police Department was the primary extraction point.

"Negative. Securing alternate route. Will contact again as soon as possible."

"Very good Hunk."

Hunk clicked off the transmitter and removed it from his radio, he slipped the transmitter back into his vest and picked up his weapon again. Hunk activated his weapon's tac-light, brightly illuminating the path ahead of him. Behind him, Hunk heard voices. And they were coming closer, he would have to act fast. He pulled a flash bang from his belt and pulled the pin, he waited for the voices to come closer.

Claire, being helped by Bryan, came around a corner. Mike and Elza followed, weapons held at the ready. The corridor infront of them was empty save for a few rats, water dripped from leaking pipes.

"Leon?" Bryan called tentatively, pistol in hand. Bryan's voice echoed down the empty corridor, there was no answer. Suddenly there was a small metallic clang and a small cylinder rolled around the corner. Claire didn't recognize it by Bryan did. "Oh, shit." he muttered before the flash bang exploded.

The flash bang blinded everyone who also heard a ringing in their ears as well. When the blindness and deafness subsided, they heard someone groan in pain, Claire and Bryan turned the corner and saw Leon backed up against a wall. His rifle lay on the ground infront of him and his hands covered his eyes.

"Leon! You alright?" Bryan and Claire were by his side in a second. Leon removed his hands from his eyes, the white of his eyes were red.

"What the hell was that?" Mike asked as he came around the corner with Elza.

"A flash bang. Did you see who it was, Leon?"

Leon groaned again as he rubbed his eyes. "Not really. Some dick, didn't get a good look at him though. He was dressed in black. He ran down that way."

He pointed down the corridor which ended with a door. Bryan looked down the hallway. "That's not in blueprints. Wonder where that goes."

Leon picked up his rifle and pulled back the charging handle. "I'm gonna find out."


	7. Going for a train ride

Full Circle

'Going for a train ride'

Leon jumped up onto the platform infront of the door and turned around to help Claire up when he heard a loud noise. He looked back in the direction they came and saw something moving towards them. It was a big as a zombie but it was too low to the ground, almost crawling. It appeared to have no skin and razor sharp claws in the place for fingers, it's brain was exposed and it's eyes were gone.

"That's new." Leon muttered.

He pulled Claire up and lifted his rifle at the creature. Sudden the creature was joined by another, then another and then several more. Soon the hallway was crowded with them, some of them crawling on the ceiling and walls.

"Time to go!"

Leon grabbed Bryan by the forearm and hauled him up, followed by Mike and Elza.

"I can't get the door open!" Claire cried as she tried to push the door open.

Leon pushed her out of the way and held up his rifle. "Do you know how to fire one of these?"

Claire shook her head. Leon groaned. He shoved the gun in Claire's hands and pressed the stock against her shoulder.

"Okay, quick lesson: 30 rounds, semi auto fire. I've got more mags."

Leon turned and tried slam open the door. Mike and Bryan brought their shotguns to their shoulders then fired at the first wave, knocking the creatures backwards. Claire tried to fire her gun but it just clicked, she checked the magazine but it was full. She realized the safety was on and flicked the switch then fired the gun, the kickback almost knocked her off her feet. Leon slammed his shoulder repeatedly into the steel door until it finally gave way. He held the door open as Claire and the others ran thru, Leon turned and saw one of the creatures leap at him. Leon pulled the Desert Eagle from it's holster and fired, the .44 magnum round impacted the creature's chest and sent it flying backwards.

Leon went through the door and slammed it shut. The door started to bend from the numerous impacts from the creatures until they stopped. Leon followed the others until he reached a tram, powered up and ready to go. Claire saw a small body near the door and ran/hobbled towards it.

"Sherry!" She cried as she dropped her rifle and scooped up the little girl into her arms.

Sherry didn't move, she just laid bonelessly in Claire's arms. "Oh, god. Is she" Claire trailed off as Elza came over to her and felt for a pulse then breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's alright, she's just unconscious."

Bryan looked over the tram as Leon scooped up the rifle then ejected the empty magazine and quickly replaced it.

"What do you think?" Bryan asked.

Leon sighed. "I don't know. But I think we should take it."

Everyone boarded the tram and the doors closed, the tram started to move forward.

Suddenly, something impacted the roof of the tram and caused dust to rain down on them.

"What is that? Another one of those creatures?" Elza asked as she drew her revolver.

Claire gently laid Sherry down on the only cot in the tram and pulled her shotgun free from its holster. She checked the chamber and took her place by Leon. More dust rained down on them then something shot thru the ceiling, a clawed hand covered in blood. The claw went right between Leon and Claire, both of them fired at the claw and caused it to retract into the roof. Claire pumped a shell into the firing tube, Leon shouldered his rifle and drew his Glock. The two started moving backwards when the claw shot thru the roof infront of Elza, she screamed and fired her revolver up into the ceiling.

She quickly emptied the cylinder and crouched to reload. A claw shot thru the side of the tram by Mike and Bryan, both men fired their shotguns at it until it disappeared. The claw burst thru another hole infront of Leon who emptied his magazine at it until it retreated. A roar was heard above them then silence. The tram rumbled to stop and the doors hissed open, Leon holstered his pistol and took Claire's shotgun from her. He exited the tram and pointed the shotgun at the roof but nothing was up there.

"Okay, it's clear."

Claire scooped up Sherry in her arms and exited the tram, followed by Elza then Mike and Bryan. Leon slid Claire's shotgun back into it's scabbard and unshouldered his rifle, Claire leaned over to Leon.

"What was that thing?"

"I don't know. But I have a feeling it might be coming back."

The only exit off the platform was a single door, a plaque next to it with the writing worn off. That door led to a cramped hallway that dead ended with a ladder going up. Leon shouldered his rifle and scaled the ladder, a hatch covered the top and he pushed it open with ease. A familiar Browning greeted him, Leon looked at the hand holding it then the arm then the face of the owner.

"We meet again, top cop. First the rifle, then the pistol and oh that cannon you got as well."

Leon groaned and unslung his rifle and slid it thru the hatch, followed by both of his pistols. Leon climbed up and moved to the far wall, Claire came up next and was quickly disarmed as well.

"No hard feelings huh?"

"Go fuck yourself."

Ada smiled and sucker punched Claire with her pistol. Claire stumbled backwards and Leon caught her. Bryan and Mike were next then Elza and Sherry. Leon helped Claire stand up.

"You okay?"

Claire nodded, a trail of blood coming out of one of her nostrils.

"Why are you doing this?" Elza asked.

Ada chuckled ruefully but Leon spoke before she could.

"Money, I'm willing to bet."

Ada smirked. "Money, yes. But it's something in particular that I'm after."

"What's that?" Elza asked while holding onto Sherry.

Ada held up a gold locket, Sherry moved forward but Elza held her back. "That's mine!"

Ada opened the locket and frowned. She dropped the locket and pointed her pistol at Leon and Claire. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

Ada rushed forward and grabbed Claire, putting her into an chokehold again. Ada cocked the hammer back and pressed it to Claire's temple.

"Tell me. Now."

Leon held up his hands defensively. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ada pressed the gun harder into Claire's head, she turned to Elza. "Where?" Leon made his move.

He rushed forward and grabbed Ada's wrist and twisted it outwards. Claire got out of Ada's hold and rolled out of the way. As Leon twisted Ada's wrist, she instinctively fired. Leon wrestled the gun of her hand and threw it down the hatch, Ada pulled out her folding knife and stabbed Leon in the arm. Leon gave a yell of pain and grabbed his arm, letting go of Ada. Ada ran thru the door behind Leon and locked it behind her. Leon groaned as he flexed his arm, blood seeped between his fingers. Elza came forward and started to bandage his arm, Mike and Bryan were trying to unlock the door but in the end Bryan shot the lock off.

Leon entered first, pistol drawn and with a deadly look in his eye. He swept the entire area with his handgun but Ada was nowhere to be found. A train engine sat on what appeared to be a turntable, a control panel near the door of the train had a blinking green light which indicated it was ready. The group filed out of the office and boarded the train, Leon hit the switch and the lift rumbled to life. The inside of the compartment was cramped but they made do, the lift started going down. About midway thru the journey, a large crash was heard as something impacted the roof of the train, a gloved hand punched its way thru and almost connected with Claire's head. Claire stumbled backwards into Leon's arms.

"Oh, great. He's back."

Next chapter: Two monsters and a lab


	8. Two Monsters and a Lab

Full Circle

Two Monsters and a Lab

The gloved hand retracted then it punched thru another section of the roof, trying to grab Elza and Sherry who both ducked out of the way. The hand retracted and again punched thru the roof and almost hit Mike.

"Okay, this can't go on for much more than forever." Mike muttered as he drew his pistol.

Claire moved away from Leon and put her back against a wall, Leon did the same. There was silence for several seconds just before the gloved hand came thru the wall Claire was standing against and sent her into the opposite wall, Claire banged her head on a control panel on the wall then tumbled to the floor. Leon dropped his rifle and crouched to her side.

"Claire. Can you hear me?"

Claire groaned but didn't answer him, Elza bent down to examine her.

"She's unconscious. She should be okay, I hope."

Leon nodded and unzipped the ammo bag, he removed all the magazines for his rifle and slipped them into the pockets on his vest.

Leon removed Claire's shotgun holster and slipped it on. Leon pulled back the charging handle on his rifle far enough to see if there was a round chambered.

"Okay, everyone stay here. I'll go take care of Mister Big."

Leon exited the train compartment and heard the door click behind him, he tried the handle but it held firm. He knocked on the door.

"Hey."

Mike's muffled voice answered him. "Uh, yeah. Damn thing locked itself. There's a warning here. 'Door will lock in case of emergency.' Sorry."

Leon sighed. He brought the rifle to his shoulder and stepped off the platform. He walked around the platform but there was nothing there. There was a loud thump from above, Leon walked around the platform back towards the door when the large silent man landed infront of him on his back. Leon looked up at the roof of the platform and couldn't believe his eyes. What used to be a man stood there, his upper body severely deformed.

A cracking sound was heard and the man's head actually moved into his chest, a new head that was shaped like a bullet. It looked at the large man then at Leon with an eye the size of an extra large pizza on it's right arm. The pupil narrowed at the sight of Leon, the large eye then closed. The deformed man jumped down from the roof and made it's way towards Leon.

"Oh, sure." Leon muttered as he fired his rifle at the man.

The rounds impacted the man's chest but they only seemed to make him angrier, the man raised his right arm and backhanded Leon. Leon's rifle flew from his grasp as Leon skidded across the coarse metal surface. Leon came to a halt at the front of the train, he struggled to push himself up; his broken ribs didn't help either. The deformed man turned away from Leon and made his way towards the train, he roared and plunged the claws on his right hand into the side of the train. Leon could hear screams from inside the train, he had to do something quick. Leon put his back against the wall and with a grunt of pain, pulled his shotgun from it's scabbard. Leon pumped a shell into the firing tube.

"HEY! Over here!" Leon fired and hit the man in the upper back.

The buckshot ripped into the man's back, blood and tatters of what used to be the man's shirt sprayed everywhere. The large man slowly turned back to Leon, dragging his claws across the metal surface which caused sparks to shoot up. Leon groaned as he pumped another shell into the tube and fired, the shot hit the man in the chest and caused him to stumble. Leon cocked the shotgun again and fired, the shot went high and clipped the man's shoulder. The large man raised his arm and was about to strike, Leon tried his best to roll out of the way. Leon could feel the air part as the claw came down, raking across the back of Leon's vest. Leon dropped the shotgun as he rolled and pulled his Eagle free, he fired as he rolled, the shot went high and over the man's head. Leon crawled backwards as he trained his pistol again on the large man and fired.

The bullet hit it's mark and embedded in the man's upper chest, the spent shell casing flew past Leon's head. Leon used his legs to push himself back as he fired, round after round nailed the large man in the chest. Leon could feel the opposite wall behind him and knew he ran out of space, he raised the heavy pistol at the large man's head and cocked the hammer back. The large man raised his arm. Leon pulled the trigger.

Click.

'Misfire.' Leon thought as the large man brought the claw down at Leon. Leon closed his eyes and waited. But nothing came. He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. The large silent man was fighting the large deformed man. Leon struggled to his feet and out of their way as he made his way back to the train compartment, stripping what was left of his vest off in the process. He scooped up his empty rifle and climbed the small landing, he jiggled the handle and was surprised to see it open. Leon stumbled in and collapsed on the floor, passing out.

Leon woke up several minutes later, Elza was next to him and was rebandaging his wounds. Elza was muttering to herself.

"Jesus christ, you're a medical nightmare."

Leon groaned. "Thank you. I try." Elza helped him up into a sitting position. "Where are we?"

Bryan came up to him, shaking his head. "Damned if I know. Some kind of facility, underground. Here. Went out and got this for you." Bryan held up Leon's tattered vest. "What happened out there?"

Leon coughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Leon removed the rifle clips from the vest and reloaded his rifle. "Help me up."

Bryan and Elza helped Leon onto his feet, Mike was by the door with his shotgun at the ready.

Leon slung his rifle over his shoulder and picked up Claire in his arms, Mike exited first, followed by Bryan and Leon then Elza and Sherry. Bryan led them across the platform to a small office, Elza stopped and picked up Claire's discarded shotgun. Bryan opened the door and swept the inside, Leon moved past him and laid Claire down on the single cot on in the room. Elza sat on the edge of the cot and checked Claire's pulse.

"Steady. She'll be alright."

Claire's eyes fluttered. "Oh." She raised a hand to her forehead. "What hit me?"

Elza smiled. "You're lucky. All you got was a bump on the head."

In truth it was worse than that, the left side of Claire's head was covered with blood.

"I feel lightheaded again."

Leon and Elza exchanged a worried look, Claire noticed it.

"What's wrong?"

Elza bit her lip. "Uh, let's get you bandaged."

"Is there something on my face?"

"More like on the side of it." Mike muttered before Bryan kicked him in the leg.

Sherry came over to Leon. "I'm not feeling well."

She was sweating and holding her stomach in pain. Leon picked her up and sat her on a desk, he put his hand on her forehead.

"Hmm. You're alittle warm. Elza."

Elza nodded. "Be there in a second."

Sherry laid down on the desk, her breathing erratic. Her little body started to twitch, Leon held her down.

"Elza! Now!" Elza removed a syringe from her bag.

"What's that?" Mike asked.

"Sedative." Elza removed the cap, tapped the side to get rid of the bubbles then squirted alittle out. Leon rolled his eyes.

"Today!" Elza pointed the syringe at him threateningly. "Listen motherfucker! This has to be done right or she'll get air in her veins!"

Leon held up his hand defensively then quickly put it back to hold Sherry down. Elza injected the syringe into Sherry's neck and stepped back, Leon let her go and watched as Sherry stopped twitching and her breathing slowed.

Leon folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think it could be?"

Elza shook her head. "I don't know. Fever then seizures? This is beyond me, I'm just trained in EMS. We need to get her to a real doctor."

Leon sighed. "Everyone has gotta see a doctor. We need to find a way out of here."

Leon put down his rifle and picked up Claire's shotgun, he loaded more shells into it and cocked it. He went to the door, Bryan stood up.

"No, just me. Mike, give me your radio." Mike nodded and handed it to him. "Thanks. Stay on channel 3."

Leon exited the office and looked around, there were two doors nearby. One looked like an elevator, Leon approached it and pressed the button. Nothing. Leon went over to the other door and watched as it slid up into the ceiling.

"Nice." He muttered.

Leon stepped into a large circular room with two doors across from him, a central hub infront of him bridged the three walkways. Leon walked into the central hub, he looked to his left then his right. He dug in hi pocket and produced a quarter, he flipped it into the air and caught it.

"Heads. Left." Leon checked the chamber on the shotgun as the door opened infront of him, he came face to face with _something_. It was as tall as a man but it wasn't, it looked like a giant plant. Its head looked like the petals of a flower, its arms were vines. The creature pulled its arm back and was about to strike Leon. Leon raised his shotgun and fired from his hip, the buckshot ripped into its head. Green blood spurted from the wound, the creature let out an inhuman screech and stumbled back. Leon pumped another shell into the firing tube and fired again, blowing off one of its arms.

Leon cocked the shotgun again and fired, the shot hit the creature and sent it flying backwards. Leon dropped the shotgun and drew his pistol, emptying the mag into the creature as it lay screeching on the floor. Leon ejected the empty magazine, smoke billowed from the barrel, he fumbled another mag from his belt. The vine creature went into its death throes then laid still. Leon holstered his pistol and picked up his shotgun again. He was down to his last magazine for his pistol and ten shells for the shotgun, he would have to find more.


	9. The Wong Initiative

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

This chapter will focus on Ada and a possible identity as to who Hunk really is.

Chapter 9: The Wong Initiative

Ada rolled out from under the train engine, her folding knife gripped tightly in her hand. She saw the whole fight between Leon and the deformed man formally known as William Birkin. Ada waited until everyone in the train car had entered the security office. Ada opened a pouch on her belt and removed a small radio. She flicked it on and raised it to her ear.

"Report."

'Ah, the direct approach.' Ada thought. "I've entered the lab area. Orders?"

Trent's cool voice replied. "According to Hunk's last report, he should be in the lab area by now. Report to him and coordinate your efforts with him. Understood?"

"Perfectly." Ada clicked off the radio and returned it to the pouch. Ada adjusted her grip on her knife and started to walk, she walked past the elevator and entered the main shaft area. Just in time to see Leon Kennedy enter the left door. Ada cursed as she entered the main hub. Her pistol was gone and she was pretty sure Leon would put a bullet in her head before she got close enough to use the knife. Ada entered the right hallway, the door hissed as it shut behind her.

'Hunk' she thought. 'God, he creeps me out!'

Ada knew all about Hunk, his skills, his tactics, the secret training on Rockfort. A chill went down Ada's spine.

'Rockfort. The stories that came out of there.'

Ada had never seen Hunk's face, nobody did except Trent. Hunk reported to Trent directly, Ada wasn't sure who Trent reported to. Ada remembered before this mission, Trent wanted to talk to her. Talk to her about defecting. Ada worked for Spencer directly but Trent was the mastermind behind this whole mission. When Trent mentioned about coming over to the other side, Ada knew what he meant but she played innocent. She remembered the whole conversation.

"Miss Wong, come in. Have a seat."

Ada sat down infront of Trent's desk, various pictures dotted the desk and cabinets. Trent opened an oak box on his desk and removed a Cuban cigar. He cut the tip off and lit the cigar, he puffed on it several times before exhaling a large plume of smoke.

"Tell me Miss Wong, are you familiar with Albert Wesker?"

Ada nodded. "I've only heard about him sir. He was involved in the mansion cover up. He was killed in the explosion."

Trent smiled, he took another puff off his cigar. "Do you really think that?"

Ada shifted in her seat. "He's alive? Sir."

Trent smiled again. "Drop the 'sir'. Makes me sound older than I really am."

Ada nodded. "Sorry. You were saying about Wesker?"

Trent nodded as he stood up, he went around the desk and sat on the corner near Ada. Trent flicked the ash from his cigar into his ashtray.

"Miss Wong, I have been going over your file and quite frankly, I'm impressed."

"Thank you."

Trent puffed on his cigar again. "I was wondering Miss Wong. After this mission, would you like to come work for me?"

"Sir?"

Trent stood up and went around his desk again, sitting down. "Miss Wong, your skills are without a doubt, excellent. And yet you choose to work for Spencer. Correct?"

Ada nodded. Trent set his cigar on the rim of the ashtray. He reached over and flicked several switches on a control unit that was built into his desk.

"There. Now, we don't have to worry about anyone listening to our conversation." Trent brushed the lapels of his Armani suit. "Miss Wong, this conversation does not leave this room. Understand?"

Ada nodded, slightly worried. "Good, now. I will have you know, I do not approve of Umbrella's methods. I work for an organization that we will call The Agency for conversation's sake that's sole purpose is to restore the balance of power. We wish to have Umbrella go under but we need the people with the skills to do it. Can I count on you? When the time comes?"

Ada nodded, she didn't want to cross Trent. Trent smiled and flicked the switches again.

"Now Miss Wong, I trust you have been briefed on your mission?"

Ada nodded again. Trent smiled.

"Well, allow me to explain better."

'Better?' Ada wondered. Trent puffed on his cigar.

"Agent Hunk and his team will infiltrate the facility and acquire the G virus samples along with the vaccine. Now, should Hunk and his team fail in anyway."

"Unlikely." A voice from Ada spoke.

Ada stood up with a gasp. Hunk was standing behind her, already dressed in his gear. Trent continued as if he wasn't interrupted.

"You will be sent in to pick up the slack. Are there any questions?"

Ada shook her head, Trent smiled again. "Good bye Miss Wong. You leave tonight." Ada left the office and sat down in the waiting room. She could distinctly hear Hunk and Trent talking inside, more than likely about the mission.

Ada had full confidence in Hunk's abilities. In all the mission files she read about him, he never lost a member of his team nor did he ever fail an objective. Several minutes passed then Trent's office door opened. Hunk exited, adjusting the straps for his gas mask. He didn't even look at Ada as he left the waiting room area, Ada followed after him. She quickly fell into step beside him, occasionally trying to see if she could see under his mask. Hunk suddenly stopped and turned to face her, the mask's cold black eyes bored into her bright green eyes.

"Don't strain herself." He spoke, his mask filtering his words and masked his voice.

Ada decided to take a chance. "What are you hiding under there?"

Hunk started to turn away from her. "I wear it so I don't have show the world what I am."

He started walking away again and as he reached the elevator, Ada called out to him again. "And what is that?"

Hunk paused as the doors opened. He looked over his shoulder at her. "A monster." He entered the elevator and turned to face her again, the doors started to slide shut as he started to remove his gas mask again. Ada tried to see who it was but the doors shut before she could see. "Damn it." She cursed.

Ada shook her head as she was brought back to the present. She always wondered who was under that mask. She assumed it was Wesker, she never met Hunk until after the mansion incident. Ada shook her head again as the door opened infront of her. A dead Umbrella security guard greeted her, a discarded Glock 17 lay near his hands. Ada bent down and scooped it up and frowned, the pistol was empty. Ada checked the double magazine pouch on the guard's and found one spare clip. She ejected the empty and slapped the loaded one in. She thumbed the slide release, the weight of the gun was a cold comfort to her. Ada removed her radio from her belt and flicked it on, she adjusted the dial and brought the radio to her lips.

"Hunk, are you there?" She heard nothing but static at first then.

"Here. Where are you?"

"Level B4. Where the service lift is. I'm in the right hand hallway off of the main hub. But watch out, there's a cop walking around."

"Is he aware of who you are?"

"More or less. Don't kill him however, he might be of some use to us."

"Meaning?"

"Birkin. The cop and his friends will distract Birkin for us while we set the self destruct and escape."

A pause on the other end. "What about Birkin's daughter?"

"We'll take her. The others won't be any trouble."

"I'm on my way to meet you. Stay where you are."

"Roger. Out."

Ten minutes later...

Ada stood against the far wall, her arms folded under her chest and her pistol under her arm. The door infront of her hissed open and Hunk entered. He stopped infront of Ada, hands at his sides.

"What happened to Leon?"

"Tricked him. Turned a radio on in another room, he went to investigate and I slipped past. He's alive but he might come back this way. So let's hurry up."

Ada nodded and tucked her pistol into her belt. "Alright, first things first. Do you have a sample of the virus?"

Hunk nodded and opened a pouch on his belt, it hissed and smoke came out of the mini refrigeration unit as Hunk removed a purple vial. He held it up to her then returned it to the pouch. "Have you secured a route out of here?"

Ada shook her head. "No, but, I have an idea about that. The emergency train system. I activate the self destruct and you go secure Birkin's daughter."

"Why his daughter?"

"I'm not sure how but, she has a sample of the G vaccine."

"Do you have an idea where?"

Ada shook her head. "I thought it was in her locket but when I opened it, there was nothing but a picture of her family in there."

"What about the others?"

Ada sighed. "Do whatever you want. I honestly don't care anymore."

Hunk nodded as Ada turned away from him, he drew his pistol. "I have a rule, Miss Wong: No innocents."

CRACK!

Ada collapsed to the ground after Hunk pistol whipped her at the base of her skull.

"Sorry Miss Wong. Boss's orders." He holstered his pistol and turned to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at Ada.

"Thank you for telling me about the train. I'll have a drink in your honor." The door hissed shut behind him, Ada moaned but didn't move. Hunk sighed. He hated his job, but he had to do it. If not him, then someone else would do it. And they might not be so gentle about it.


	10. A Cure in the Making

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

A/N: Sorry it took so long for an update. Been busy with school and the holidays, now I'm on vacation and have to go looking for Wi-Fi. It's a pain the in the ass. Everything is coming to a close for this story. Hunk's true identity will be revealed in the next chapter!

Leon sighed as he swept the hallway with his Desert Eagle, the lime green laser danced over the walls. He found a assault vest in a locker in one of the rooms he searched. He couldn't find any ammo though. The silence of the lab chilled him to the bone. Leon tensed when he heard a sound infront of him, metal on metal. Leon opened a door, stuck his head in then out again. Nothing. Leon sighed and decided to head back to Claire and the others. Leon entered the main hub again and went back to train platform. He softly knocked on the door and opened it. Mike, who had been sitting on a table across from the door, stood up.

"Anything?"

Leon nodded as he held up a piece of paper. "A way out. It's a train system they use incase of a biological outbreak. A high speed train that leads outside of the city. The elevator outside can take us to it but the power needs to be switched on."

Bryan came over as well. "Sounds good but why do I feel there's a "but" coming on?"

Leon sighed. "There is. In order for the train system to be activated, the self destruct sequence for the lab needs to be activated as well."

Leon saw movement to his right, Claire was standing to the best of her ability with some help from Elza. Leon spoke quickly to Mike and Bryan.

"We'll worry about that later." He moved away from them and approached Claire. "Hey, how ya doing?"

Claire managed a weak smile. "Been better."

Leon smiled and nodded. "Well, you certainly look better."

Elza had replaced Claire's wrap around bandage on her head to a small square bandage on the left side of her head. Claire had taken her motorcycle jacket off and draped it over Sherry who continued to rest. Claire was now clad in a tight black T-shirt that seemed to be a couple of sizes too small for her. Leon tried to look away but Claire knew he was staring but it didn't bother her. Leon turned to Elza.

"How's Sherry doing?"

Elza sighed. "Okay for now. Listen, she needs treatment. Whatever she's got"

She shot a look at Claire who was sitting by Sherry, Elza lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's like a virus. I'm almost afraid to say it's like the one that's infecting the city."

Leon nodded. "Alright. I'll have a look around. Maybe they left plans on how to make a vaccine or better, the vaccine itself."

Elza nodded. "I should come with you."

Leon shook his head. "No, I need you here incase Sherry wakes up. You're the only one medically trained."

Elza nodded. "Okay. I'll stay here but call me on the radio when you find something."

Leon nodded. "I will."

Leon left the office again and sighed. He went back out into the main hub and decided which way to go. He heard the door open behind and saw Claire come thru, checking her Browning with Elza's revolver tucked into her belt.

"What are doing here?"

"Helping you. I'm not going to sit there and watch Sherry die!"

Leon shook his head. "Look at you, you can't even stand up straight!"

"I'm fine!"

Leon sighed. "Whatever, just stay behind me."

Claire nodded and cocked the hammer back on her Browning. Leon and Claire entered the same area Leon was in before, they made their way down the hall and went thru a door marked "Ventilation Access." The door led them to a small platform with a ladder going down but Leon and Claire weren't interested in the ladder. They were staring at the huge plant that was growing up the right side of the shaft.

"Unreal. What is it?" Claire asked.

Leon shook his head, he inched closer to it. "I don't know. Some kind of giant plant." He reached out and poked the plant with the barrel of his shotgun. Several of the leaves closest to them started to pull away from them. Claire grabbed Leon's arm.

"Okay, let's not poke the giant plant again. I'd like to live past today." Leon nodded as he climbed down the ladder, Claire followed him with her eyes on the plant. The door at the next platform down led them to a narrow hallway, ventilation ducts covered the ceiling and by their feet. Leon could hear a hissing sound ahead of him, he brought his shotgun to his shoulder.

"Claire." He whispered as he motioned her to get behind him. Then they both saw it. One of the creatures from the sewer. It crawled across the floor infront of them, dragging its tongue across the floor.

"What's it doing?" Claire whispered.

Leon shook his head again. "Don't know. Probably looking for a meal." The eyeless creature stopped licking the floor and started moving towards Leon and Claire. Leon sighed. "Oh well."

Leon fired his shotgun at the creature and blew it on to it's back. The creature flailed on it's back like a pissed off turtle while making a horrible screeching noise that caused Claire to cover her ears. Leon rushed forward and blew the creature's head off. The creature stopped flailing as blood gushed from the stump of its neck. Leon looked down at the creature and noticed for the first time, it had pieces of something stuck to it. Leon bent down as Claire came up to Leon, he held up the item. A nametag.

"Dr. Richard Colton."

"Oh, god. It must have ate him." Claire said as she turned away.

"No, this thing _is_ Dr. Colton."

"Oh, god. Do you think he suffered?"

Leon dropped the nametag and stood up. "I hope not."

"What if what killed the doctor is going to do the same to Sherry?" Leon turned to look at Claire, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Hey" Leon grasped her shoulders. "Listen, we're going to find a cure for Sherry and she is going to be just fine. But she is not going to be alright if you go to pieces on me. Okay?"

Claire nodded. "Okay. I'm so scared Leon."

Leon nodded as well. "Me too." Claire rushed forward and hugged Leon, the sudden action took him off guard. Leon hissed air thru his teeth as Claire squeezed his midsection. Claire suddenly realized what she was doing and let go of him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Let's go."

The narrow hallway emptied into a much larger hallway with a large blast door imbedded in the right wall, a computer console next to it. Leon approached the console and tapped a couple of keys.

"Hmm. Seems we need some kind of disc in order to open this door. Hey, says here there's an elevator behind this door that'll take us down to the train."

"Cool. Where's the disk?"

Leon shook his head. "I don't know. Let's keep looking."

The door at the end of the hallway led them to a control room with a bank of security monitors in the wall. Leon pointed to one of the monitors.

"There's the train." Claire looked up at the monitor, the image showed a large and bulky orange train with a platform next to it that had shipping crates dotted around the platform. Claire's hand nudged something on the console, she looked down, it was a disk.

"Hey" She held up the disk. "Found it." Leon smiled. "Cool. Wait here and I'll see if it's the one we need." Leon left the control room and Claire was alone…..kind of.

Annette Birkin was tired. The chair in the control room was reasonably comfortable but she couldn't sleep. Not yet. She knew they were here. Spies from Umbrella. Annette saw them on the security monitors. The woman in the red dress, the Umbrella soldier, that cop and his female companion. Those last two were on their way here as she watched them, looking at the giant plant in the ventilation duct and destroying one of the creatures in the hallway before her. She knew what they were after. Annette dipped a hand into her right coat pocket and touched the cool clear surface of the G virus viral. All of the others that had been taken by her husband's assassins were created after the one she had, hers was the original. Hers and Williams, they created it together. 'William' she thought. He wasn't human anymore, those bastards from Umbrella took care of that. From a wife's perceptive it was horrifying to see what he had become but from a scientist's point of view it was fascinating. Annette looked up at the monitor again, the cop and his friend were almost at the door. Annette stood up and scooped up her Browning, she turned and pressed a button on the central shaft. A door slid open and stepped inside, the door sealing shut behind her. The small room she was in was designed for engineers to move between floors and check wiring. Annette could hear the two spies enter the room, talk for a minute then she heard a door open and they left. Annette waited a minute then heard a sigh. It was the female companion! Annette pushed a button on her side of the door and the door hissed silently open.

The female companion was sitting in the very chair Annette had been sitting in just moments ago. Annette held up her gun, she wasn't a very good shot but she managed. She saw that the woman had a pistol similar to hers on the desk. The young woman, Annette guessed she was very young, put her boot on the edge of the console and used it to rotate from side to side. Annette was in arms length of the young woman as she pressed the barrel of pistol against her skull. The young woman stopped moving.

"Don't move." Annette spoke, adrenaline rushing thru her veins. Annette looked the young woman over for the first time, she looked like she had been thru hell.

"Stand up. Slowly."

The young woman did as she was told, Annette could see a revolver tucked into the woman's waistband that Annette promptly removed. Annette dropped the revolver on the table. Annette looked at the young woman's face, she didn't look like an assassin so she must have been a spy.

"I know what you're looking for."

"You do?" The young woman asked, Annette nodded.

"You're looking for the G-virus. Aren't you?" The young woman shook her head.

"No, we're looking for the vaccine."

'Ah, ha! It was obvious now. They had the virus now they wanted the vaccine as well.' Annette shook her head. "I won't let you take it!"

"It's for a little girl. Her name is Sherry and she"

"What? Sherry? Sherry Birkin?"

"Yes. Is she your daughter?" Annette grabbed a handful of the young woman's shirt, not hearing the door open behind her.

"What have you done to her?" Annette screamed before Leon pistol whipped her with his Glock. Annette dropped her pistol then fell forward, the whole world going dark.

Claire caught the hysterical woman before she hit the ground, she lowered her to the ground. Leon crouched next to her.

"What do you think was wrong with her?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't know. She kept screaming about the G virus. And when I told her about Sherry, she went nuts."

Leon removed the woman's nametag and looked at it. "Maybe this is why."

Leon handed it to her. "Sherry's mother. Jesus. What should we do with her?"

Leon sighed. "Well, for right now, nothing. We'll leave her here and when we get the vaccine, we'll take her with us. Here, let's put her in that room."

Leon gently picked the woman up and carried her into the engineer's access room she hid in. He patted her pockets and produced a piece of paper.

"Look at this." He handed the paper to Claire who scanned it.

"Research into G-Vaccine. Leon, this is it! It details the steps needed to produce a sample!"

Leon smiled. "Things are looking up." Leon pressed the button and the door sealed shut.

"What about that disk?"

"That was the one. I opened the door and the path is clear, if something goes wrong we can take that elevator down to the train."

Leon slid into the seat and began typing. Claire leaned on Leon's shoulder and watched him work.

"Where'd you learn how to hack?"

Leon chuckled. "Bad habits."

He left it at that and Claire decided not to press the issue. After a couple of seconds, Leon clapped his hands together.

"Power to the elevator outside the security office has been reactivated and it is ready to go. Just have radio the others and tell them to meet us down there." Claire removed the radio from Leon's belt and switched it on.

"Bryan, it's Claire. Are you there?"

"We read you Claire. What's up?"

"Leon restored power to the elevator and you're good to go. How's Sherry doing?"

Elza's voice came over the radio. "She's awake but still feeling pretty bad. Any luck with a cure?"

"We might have something. We'll let you know. For now, meet us at the train and see if you can power it up."

Bryan's voice came back. "Got it. Out." Claire switched off the radio and handed it back to Leon.

Leon picked up his shotgun off the counter and checked the chamber, Claire picked up her pistols along with Annette's and followed Leon out of the control room. Leon and Claire found themselves in a T-junction hallway. Leon looked to the right, the hallway had partly collapsed. The left hallway ended with a heavy-duty double door with a sign above marked 'Laboratory'. Leon grunted as he forced the door open, just enough for them to pass thru. They entered a clean room that didn't activate, the door infront of them slid up into the ceiling, the laboratory itself was about the size of the STARS office room. A large table sat in the middle of the room with various instruments on it, a large puddle of dried blood stained the floor and the side of the table.

"Leon, what happened in here?"

"I don't know. Let's just get that cure and get out of here."

The device for creating the vaccine was located in the far corner of the room, a vial already set in the machine, it just had to be turned on. Claire activated the machine and watched as the vial was filled with a blue colored liquid.

"Is that the cure?" Leon asked while watching the exit.

Claire shrugged. "I hope so."

The machine beeped and dispensed the vial into Claire's waiting hand. Claire saw a injector that could hold one of the vials, she inserted the vial into the gun.

"Ready?" Leon asked as he brought up the shotgun. Leon and Claire exited the lab and made their way back to the security office. They stopped at the door where Annette was at and opened it, she was gone.

"Leon, we have to find her."

"Alright, let's" He was cut off as a female voice came on the PA system.

"**The self-destruct sequence has been activated. Repeat, the self-destruct sequence has been activated. This sequence cannot be aborted. All personnel please evacuate." **The message repeated itself over and over again.

Leon grabbed Claire's hand. "We gotta go!"


	11. These Final Moments

Full Circle

**Chapter 11: Those final moments**

Leon and Claire ran back as fast as they could back to the security office, they didn't want to waste any time. Leon almost forgot Claire couldn't run very fast so he had to slow his pace. Claire slapped the door control then Leon entered the hallway to the security room with the shotgun raised. They reached the security room door and entered the security room. Claire quickly went over to Sherry. Elza took the injection gun from her.

"I can do it. She'll be fine."

Claire nodded and collapsed into a chair. Claire felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, she looked up and saw Leon smiling down at her.

"You did good Claire. Better than I expected."

Claire smiled back. "Thanks, Leon."

Leon sighed. "Are we ready to go?"

Elza injected the contents of injection gun into Sherry and nodded. "Ready."

Mike and Bryan loaded their weapons and hefted the ammo bags. "Ready." They both said.

Claire stood and accepts her shotgun back. "Ready."

Leon nodded as he checked his rifle. "Then let's go."

Elza, Bryan and Mike left the office first and went to the elevator. Leon, Claire and Sherry left after them. Mike pressed the elevator call button and the steel double doors opened. Elza, Mike and Bryan boarded and as Leon and Claire approached them, he arrived. The silent man. He literally jumped down the shaft and landed on the locomotive engine, completely destroying it. He climbed his way out of the wreckage, his eyes settled on the people at the far end of the room. Claire turned to Leon as the initial shock wore off.

"I don't get it! How does he keep finding us?"

Leon shook his head. He tried to piece it together in his head. 'It attacked us in the basement, it attacked me in the elevator shaft but it was more focused on that creature. Could it, could it be after the virus?' Leon thought as the silent man climbed off the wreckage. 'Ada said she wanted the locket but there was nothing in it. Or was there?' Leon went over to Sherry and took her locket.

"What? What is it?"

"Ada was looking for something in the locket. I think it still might be in there." Leon opened the locket but there was nothing but a picture of Sherry and her family in it. Leon noticed the locket door was alittle stiff. He forced it and he heard a snap. The locket door went back further and the picture popped out on a hidden hinge. Nestled in behind the picture was a small vial.

"What is that?" Claire asked in wonderment. Leon looked up at the silent man who was half the distance away.

"What he wants." He turned to Elza and the others. "Go! We'll lead him away."

Claire handed Sherry off to Elza. "Keep her safe!" Elza nodded as the doors closed.

Leon and Claire pressed their backs against the steel doors. Leon had already pressed the recall button. Several slow minutes passed by as they waited for the elevator. Leon watched the silent man approach then he held up the vial. The silent man stopped in his tracks. Leon raised the vial like he was going to smash it. The silent man stopped moving period. 'Ah, ha.' Leon thought. 'This is what he wants.' The elevator doors opened.

"Get in Claire."

"No, I'm not leaving without you!"

Leon shoved Claire into the lift and slapped the button on the inner control panel.

"No choice!" Leon yelled as he slipped the vial into his vest pocket. Just as the doors started to close, Claire reached out and grabbed Leon by the straps of his vest and pulled him into the lift.

"Hey, I told you to go!"

"Why? So you could stay behind and get turned into a smear on the wall by him?"

Leon sighed. "Fair enough." They both looked up at the row of lights above them, indicating the floors. Claire's brow furrowed.

"Leon, is it my imagination or"

"Or are we going up? If so, yes." Leon pressed the down button which was illuminated. Nothing happened. "Great." Leon muttered. "Well, nothing to do now but see where it takes us." The elevator slowed to a stop. "Get ready." Leon raised his rifle, Claire brought up her Browning.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a maintenance hallway, wires and lengths of pipe lay on the floors and from the walls. A panel on the back wall of the elevator opened and reveal a small computer tucked into the wall. A row of words spilled out across the screen. **Emergency access offline. To restore emergency access, Master key must be used.**

"Master key? What's that?" Claire asked.

Leon shook his head. "I don't know. But its got to be around here."

Both of them exited the lift and went down the hall. The hallway ended at a large set of steel double doors. The handle for one of the doors was a small wheel. Leon spun the wheel and pulled the large door open. Claire went in first with Browning raised. She almost covered her ears out of instinct, the noise in the room was deafening. She felt a hand on her shoulder, Claire couldn't hear what Leon was saying so he pointed to something infront of her. Claire looked and saw a small lift on the left of the platform they were on. Claire nodded to him, understanding what he meant. The two boarded the lift and headed down, a single path lay before them inbetween what looked like two large boilers. If Claire thought it was loud before, it was deafening now, she couldn't even hear her own thoughts. A ladder presented itself at the far end of the passage, it led to another platform with another set of steel doors. Leon opened the door and Claire walked in with pistol raised. An intense heat filled the room, neither of them could see where the heat source was.

Leon and Claire walked to the end of the platform and looked down, a large vat sat the bottom of a 70 foot drop.

Claire whistled. "Whoa." Inside the vat was the source of the incredible heat: a pool of lava. "What'd you suppose they use that for?" Claire asked as she leaned over the railing.

"Nothing good I imagine." They turned around and saw a large computer console infront of them. Claire could see a key in the console. She pulled it free.

"Leon, I think this is it."

Then almost if on cue, as if a silent alarm went off, the silent man appeared again. He leaped down from the ceiling and landed infront of them, cutting off their only escape. Leon immediately pushed Claire behind him. Leon removed the vial from his vest and held it up, the silent man's attention focused on it.

"Uh huh. That's right." Leon muttered as he and Claire stepped closer to the railing, the silent man following them. Leon felt his lower back hit the railing, they had run out of room. Leon looked over his shoulder then back at the silent man. Leon held up the vial. "You want it?" Leon chucked it over his shoulder. "Go get it."

As Leon threw the vial over his shoulder, the silent man was already in motion towards Leon. Leon's eyes widened as the silent man came rushing towards him and Claire. Leon felt time slow down as he pushed Claire out of the way. Leon felt a great weight hit his chest as the silent man collided with him. Leon felt the railing give way as the silent man continued on his path, taking both of them over the edge. Leon was dimly aware Claire was screaming his name as he started to free fall.

Claire was on her feet and running towards where the railing used to be as Leon and the silent man fell over the edge. She looked down in time to see a dark shape plunge into the lava pool. Claire fell to her knees, a look of shock on her face.

"No." She whispered.

Claire fell to her knees, her eyes started welling up with tears. The cold realization began to sink in. Leon was gone. There was so many things she wanted to say to him. She never got to thank him for saving her. If it hadn't been for Leon, Claire along with Sherry would've died at the front door of the police station. Time seemed to stop just for Claire. She began to wonder what would've happened if Umbrella never existed, if none of this happened. She would still come to Raccoon eventually. Her brother would still be there. Sherry would be with her family and the two would probably never meet. Leon would be alive and working at the station. She would run into him at the station while going to visit her brother. The two would make small talk, he would ask her out on a date. The two would hit off and become steady daters, maybe even lovers. Claire realized she never got to say the one thing that mattered, the only thing that mattered at this point. There was no point in saying it but maybe she would feel better if she said it.

"I know we didn't know each other for very long, Leon, but I want you to know something. I've never been in love before. Until I met you. You just amazed me. I've never met anyone like you. I don't know how else to say this: I love you."

Claire imagined Leon coming up from abyss, taking her into his arms and telling her comforting things but it was a silly dream. Claire was pulled out of her dreamy thoughts and thrust back into the cold reality as a warning began over a hidden loudspeaker.

"**Warning! The self destruct has been activated! The self destruct has been activated. This sequence cannot be aborted! Repeat."**

The message continued but Claire couldn't care less. For the first time in her life, Claire Redfield wanted to die.

She wanted to fall from the platform and into the lava pool. She wanted to stay and wait for the laboratory to explode. She wanted to stick her gun in her mouth and pull the trigger. She knew that Elza would take care of Sherry, the woman had a kind heart. Claire looked down at the Browning that managed to stay in her hand. 'It would be simple. Just point and squeeze.' Claire thought as she thumbed back the hammer.

Claire sniffled. "Wait for me Leon. I'm coming." Claire placed the barrel under her chin. Her finger rested on the trigger. Claire closed her eyes, a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I love you."

"HEY!"

Claire's eyes shot open. 'What was that?' she thought as she looked around but didn't see anyone. Then she heard it again, that voice that sounded over the cold one coming from the speakers.

"IF THERE'S ANYONE STILL UP THERE, WOULD YOU MIND PRESSING THE UP BUTTON! PLEASE?"

Claire set her gun to the side and looked over the edge and laughed. Detective Leon Scott Kennedy was dangling from a chain about 30 feet below the platform. When he saw Claire's face, he smiled.

"HEY! GOOD TO SEE YOU!"

Claire laughed amidst the tears rolling down her cheeks. Claire looked around for a control panel and saw one to her left. She slapped a button and waited for Leon.

She heard a yell followed by "UP! UP I SAID!"

Claire looked down and realized that she hit the down button rather than the up button. Claire quickly corrected her mistake and soon Leon was level with the platform. Leon stepped on to the platform.

"Whew! Thanks. I thought I was dead there."

He turned and Claire impacted his chest, knocking them both to the ground. Claire started kissing him furiously. Then almost as if a switch had been flicked inside Claire, she started slapping his face and chest.

"OW! JESUS! FUCK! DAMN IT! CHRIST!"

"You bastard! I thought you were dead!"

Claire moved away from Leon and brought her knees to her chest. Leon got to his knees and pulled Claire back to him.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I was yelling but I thought nobody was up there. I thought you left."

Claire wasn't listening to a word he was saying. She was enjoying the comfort of his arms. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his frantically beating heart slow to a steady and almost hypnotic rhythm. Claire suddenly found herself being lightly shaken.

"Claire? Claire? We need to go." Claire nodded and stood up along with Leon. The two of them left the room quickly.

The rush back to the elevator seemed to blow by them. As the doors closed and Leon inserted the key, he turned to Claire.

"What was all that kissing about?"

Claire blushed. "I was just happy to see you were alive."

Leon smiled. "You sure?"

'No.' Claire thought. "Yes."

Leon smiled slyly. "Ok."

Claire turned from him and watched the light move this time to the left. Claire sighed. "We're almost out of here." She said aloud.

Leon nodded. "Yep."

Claire glanced out of the corner of her eye at Leon. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. She wanted him to pin her against the wall of the elevator and screw her brains out. She wanted him to make love to her. She wanted to be held in his arms. But most of all, she wanted him to tell her that he loved her. But that would have to come later. For now, they had to escape. The elevator doors opened to reveal the train. The side door was open and Elza was standing here waiting. She started to greet them when she caught sight of something behind them. Both Leon and Claire turned to look and gasped.

The silent man was there. But he was different now. Without his coat, the silent man's true form was revealed. He was incredibly muscular. He now had claws where his hands should have been. He was also on fire.

"You have got to be kidding." Leon muttered as the silent man took a step forward and roared at them.

Claire watched in sort of a dumb amazement as the silent man rushed forward and raised his right hand in a backhand motion. Claire yelped as the hand connected with her body and sent her skidding across the concrete floor. Claire rolled to a stop and immediately felt a painful hot sensation in her left leg. Claire raised herself up, her eyes widened in fear: her entire left leg was on fire! Claire started patting the flames out as Leon engaged the monster with everything in his arsenal. Claire managed to get the flames out in time to see the silent man swat Leon like an insect. Leon flew across the room and impacted a control panel, destroying it. The control panel controlled the gate that allowed the train to leave. The destruction of the panel caused the gate to open. Leon and Claire's eyes locked from across the room as Mike and Bryan began firing at the monster with little to no effect. That's when it happened. Claire felt herself being lifted by hands from behind her. Claire turned and couldn't believe her eyes. Ada Wong was there. Their eyes locked.

"Run." Ada whispered. Claire could only nod as she ran towards Leon. Ada turned her attention to the monster, her Glock in one hand and a sample of the virus in the other. "Over here!" She called as she began firing at the monster.

The monster turned its attention towards Ada as Claire rushed past it and helped Leon up. Together they ran for the train, Claire stopped just inside the door and looked back towards Ada.

"Thank you." Ada continued firing at the monster but of course it had no effect. She watched as the monster stopped infront of her and raised it's arm. Ada dropped the gun and the vial which shattered. The monster brought its arm down and Ada felt a great pain in her chest as the monster tore a deep gash in her side. Ada fell to the ground and began to crawl away from the monster as the train left and the countdown continued, nearing its end. Ada backed up against a crate and looked up at the monster.

"I regret nothing." Were the final words she spoke before the self destruct went off.

Hunk groaned as he collapsed, he just managed to escape the blast. He survived. He always survived. He knew for a fact that Ada was dead, he didn't see her die but he knew. Hunk started to collect his thoughts.

"Meet the pick up team outside the city. Deliver the sample and the cure."

He managed to procure a sample of the vaccine after he disabled Ada. Hunk shook his head, back to business at hand.

"Deliver both samples. Get a ride back to New York. Meet with Trent. Get assigned another suicide mission."

The last thought was always the same, it never changed. 'Do a good job, get a pat on the head by Spencer and a warm handshake from Trent, get your next mission.' Just one endless cycle of bullshit. Maybe one day it would end. Maybe one day, he could die in peace without having to look over his shoulder at all. Maybe one day he could leave his former life behind and start anew. A lot of maybes but nothing definite. Hunk sighed. He had a lot to think about. He stood up and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. So far away but he knew it was within reach. Hunk smiled for the first time since this whole mission started.

"It's going to be a good day."

Leon exited the conductor's compartment and was greeted with cheering faces. Mike and Bryan were laughing and patting each other on the arm, Elza and Claire hugged each other like they were long lost sisters. Sherry was still asleep, Leon envied her. But at the same time he felt bad for her, to lose both of your parents in the same day. It was something you don't soon forget. Claire parted from Elza and embraced Leon, spinning him around while happily screaming.

"We're alive! We made it!"

Leon smiled as he hugged Claire back but the smile was forced, the fact of the matter was he left someone to die. That person may have been working for the bad guys but she was still a person. Leon sighed, he chalked her death up against all the other deaths that Umbrella caused. Claire stopped spinning him and without a single thought, kissed him hard on the lips. Leon was caught off guard as he allowed Claire to kiss him, to enter his personal space. Claire broke away from the kiss and blushed.

"Sorry. It was just a in the moment kind of thing."

Leon smiled warmly. Leon took her by the hand.

"Come here. I want to show you something." He led her into the conductor's compartment and closed the door behind him.

"What? What is it you want to" Claire trailed off as she looked at what Leon meant.

She saw the light at the end of the tunnel, it seemed so long since she had last seen sunlight but it was a welcome sight none the less. Claire glanced over at Leon and noticed he was alittle depressed.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Leon chuckled. "One, you don't want to know what I'm thinking and Two, my thoughts are worth more than a penny."

Claire sighed. "It's about Ada isn't it?"

Leon sighed in return. "Yes. And let's leave it at that."

Claire nodded and looked out the window, she glanced at Leon out of the corner of her eye as an alarm went off.

A/N: Okay, so I lied about Hunk's identity being revealed. It'll be another two chapters before I get to there. The last part where Claire asked Leon about his thoughts, I just made up on the fly. Originally, after Claire kissed Leon, Leon would kiss her back but after careful thought, I didn't want their romance to take off just yet.


	12. It's Finally over

Full Circle

Summary: A police officer, a college student and a little girl struggle to survive in a city full of undead.

**Chapter 12: It's Finally over**

Leon exited the compartment first, followed by Claire.

"What is that?" Elza shouted over the alarm. She soon got her answer.

"**Warning! Warning! Biohazard detected! This train will detonate! Warning!" **

Claire groaned. "That's just not fair!"

Leon calmed her down. "I'll go check!"

He picked up his shotgun, subconsciously aware there were only four shells left in it. Leon exited the train and entered the back compartment, the compartment was pitch black save a single light bulb that flickered on and off. Leon moved slowly forward, the rocking of the train and the blaring warning didn't help much. Suddenly a large tentacle swiped at Leon who managed to duck just in time, the tentacle took out a shelf near Leon and struck the bulb, which caused it to spin in several directions. Leon saw a brief flash of the monster that the tentacle belonged to. Birkin. Or rather, what was left of Birkin. Birkin had undergone a severe change since Leon last saw him. Birkin was now just a giant fleshy blob now that took up the entire width of the train. Leon could see the same large eyeball from before staring at him.

"The fuck you staring at?"

Leon fired, the buckshot ripped a chunk of flesh away and dark green blood flowed from the wound. The Birkin Blob roared at him and swung its tentacle. Leon rolled to miss it then fired at it as it hit the ground, the round blew the tentacle in half that made the blob even angrier.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Was that yours?" Leon fired again and the buckshot ripped across the creature's face. Leon pumped the shotgun and lined up his last shot, he fired and the large eye exploded causing blood and a jelly like substance to go everywhere. Leon dropped the shotgun and drew his .44 in one fluid motion, he fired the large gun as he backed up. The door slid up into the ceiling as Leon exited, the large blob creature following him slowly.

Leon ran out onto the small connecting walkway and was amazed to see they were out in the open. The train had left the tunnel and it was going to go….into the woods. Leon knew the track wouldn't last forever as he entered the engine compartment. Claire rushed forward to him.

"Leon, what is it?"

"We gotta get off this train!"

"Wait! What's after us?"

"Guess!"

The door leading to the back bent inward as the Birkin Blob impacted it. Claire and Elza screamed, they both drew their pistols. Suddenly one of the windows shattered and a tentacle slid in and started to move towards Sherry.

"NO! I will not let your take her!" Claire screamed as she fired at the tentacle.

Green blood burst from the small holes the 9mm caused. They could hear the Birkin Blob roar as Bryan came forward with his shotgun and blew the tentacle in half. The half tentacle retracted as another one burst in. Leon came in from the conductor's compartment.

"Damn train won't stop! WHOA!"

A tentacle burst thru a window by him and latched onto his ankle. Leon dropped his Eagle and drew his Glock and fired what was left in the clip at it, the tentacle let Leon go and retracted out of the window. Leon heard gunshots behind him and saw Mike shooting thru the door handle, dropped his pistol and began pushing the door open. Leon scooped up his .44 and ran to help Mike. Elza was giving Bryan more shells for his shotgun then fired at a tentacle with her revolver. Claire scooped up Leon's discarded M4 and fired short bursts at any tentacles that came thru the windows. Mike and Leon managed to get the door open, Leon patted the man on the shoulder.

"Now's a good a time as any, brother!"

Mike nodded and jumped out of the train, tucking his body into a ball and rolling to a stop. Leon ran to Bryan.

"You're next!" Bryan nodded and jumped. "Elza! Take Sherry and jump!" Elza nodded and scooped the little girl into her arms, she leaped out and rolled to a stop as well.

Leon ejected the empty mag from the .44 and slapped a fresh one in. "Claire!" Claire turned and threw him his rifle. Leon slapped a fresh magazine into the gun as Claire made her way to him. Leon looked out of the open door and saw the forest approaching fast. Leon enveloped Claire in a hug and jumped out of the train. The Birkin Blob burst thru the door and made its way into the conductor's compartment. It couldn't find any trace of the G virus, it did find interest in a small clock that was counting backwards at an incredible rate. The Birkin creature realized at the last second what the clock was for. The forward compartment exploded first then the second. The explosion derailed the train and caused it to crash into the surrounding trees. It tumbled to a stop then exploded again, destroying any trace of the Birkin creature aboard the train.

Leon groaned as his back hit the ground first and caused him to tumble, his rifle getting lost in the process. Leon finally rolled to a stop with Claire on top of him, her ponytail coming loose and her hair fell across her shoulders. Claire smiled as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks for the save top cop."

Leon groaned. "All part of the job miss."

Claire stood up and helped Leon to his feet. Leon looked back and saw the rest of the group coming towards them. Mike had found Leon's rifle and handed to him, Leon slung the rifle across his back.

"Now what chief?" Mike asked as Leon checked his weapons.

Leon shrugged then an idea came to him. "Claire, your brother was investigating Umbrella, right?"

Claire thought for a second. "Yeah, think so. What about it?"

"He's in Europe. We should find him."

Claire nodded as she accepted Sherry from Elza. "Ok. Let's go."

They found the road acouple of minutes later, several cars were in the breakdown lane. The group started their hike away from Raccoon City, smoke billowing up from several areas in the city. After walking what seemed hours, they spotted a house hidden in the tree line.

The Umbrella safe house was quiet inside. The house was built incase of a biological outbreak occurred in Raccoon city to house any Umbrella staff members until help could arrive. The front was suddenly kicked and a man dressed in what used to be riot gear entered, holding a very large handgun. He swept the inside and holstered his pistol.

"Clear." He went into the living room and collapsed into an armchair. A young woman carrying a sleeping child walked in behind the riot officer, saw a bedroom and deposited the little girl on the single bed. She joined the cop in the living room and sat in an armchair next to him. A woman dressed in the tattered remains of an EMT outfit came in and collapsed on to a couch infront of the riot cop and the young woman. Two police officers walked in and also collapsed on to the couch. The young woman looked over at the riot cop.

"Leon, how long should we stay here?"

"Just for the night. We'll leave in the morning. Go to New York and hop on a flight for London."

Claire nodded. Leon stood up, his body protesting but he did it none the less. He ducked his head into two rooms then walked back into the living room.

"Okay, there's two bedrooms left and they both have double beds. Mike and Bryan sleep in the first room and Claire and Elza get the second. Sherry gets the room she's in and I'll sleep on the couch. Agreed?" Nobody was in the mood to argue.

Leon groaned as he sat up from the couch, his body completely sore. Leon shrugged on his vest and walked out the front door. He walked around the side of the house and sat down on a tree stump, he fished a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of a pocket.

"Aw, fuck." He muttered as he removed a bent cigarette from the pack, balled up the pack and threw it away.

Leon removed a scuffed, black Zippo lighter from a pocket on his pants and lit the cigarette. He inhaled, held it then exhaled a large plume of smoke. He didn't want to smoke infront of Sherry and the others because it might bother them. Leon brought the cigarette to his lips again as he stood up.

Claire tossed and turned on her bed, she couldn't sleep. She walked out of the bedroom, she paused to check on Sherry and went into the kitchen. She flipped on the light and squinted her eyes from the harsh light. She opened the fridge and was delighted to find it fully stocked. Claire removed a bottle of water and sat at the kitchen table, she unscrewed the cap and took a big drink from it.

Hunk moved inbetween the trees, his chest was on fire but he had to take care of business. He could see the house from where was he at and saw a light come on in the kitchen. He moved away from the house and towards the clearing behind the house where the pickup was supposed to happen. He entered the field and cursed. The pickup team wasn't there yet. Hunk activated his transmitter.

"Charlie team, what's your location?"

"ETA 10 minutes."

Hunk sighed and switched off the transmitter. "Ten minutes. Great."

Claire finished the bottle and threw it out, she passed by the sink and looked out of the window. She saw someone move inbetween the trees. Claire quickly flipped off the lights, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She saw a man dressed in black clothes and wearing a gasmask moving thru the trees towards a clearing. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and waited. Claire went back into her room and scooped up her Browning, she checked the magazine and was glad to find it loaded. She picked up Elza's revolver and a handful of bullets for it. She deposited the loose rounds into her jeans pocket and left the room after tucking the revolver into her belt.

Hunk groaned as he leaned up against a tree, he removed his gasmask and was glad to breathe air that wasn't filtered thru it. He lifted his weapon off his chest and laid it on the ground next to him, the weight off his chest did him some good. Hunk closed his eyes then sharply opened them when he heard a twig snap from behind him. Hunk put his gasmask on again and picked up his gun. He checked to see if there was a bullet in the chamber and waited, the footsteps were coming closer.

Claire cursed silently as she lifted her boot off of the twig she stepped on. Claire ducked behind a tree incase the soldier had turned to see what the noise was, Claire peeked around the tree and froze. The soldier was gone. Claire looked around but she didn't see him, she moved from behind the tree and went to the spot he once stood at. Claire turned around and almost screamed as the black clad soldier rushed forward and pinned her to the tree, her pistol falling from her hand. The soldier put a gloved hand over her mouth and removed her revolver from her belt then tossed it away.

"Who are you and what are doing out here?" He asked gruffly as he removed his hand from her mouth.

"My name is Claire Redfield and I'm a survivor of Raccoon. Please don't kill me."

The soldier pushed her harder against the tree. He heard an engine and saw a truck pull up. "Fuck." He turned to Claire, he let go of her. "You stay right here. They don't know anybody else is out here and they will kill us both if they find you. Do you understand?" He spoke in a harsh whisper. Claire nodded furiously. "My codename is Hunk. That's all you need to know." And with that, he moved away from her and towards the men that got out of the truck.

Hunk growled to himself as he approached the pickup team. There was five of them. All of them carried silenced MP5's. Hunk approached the leader and shook his hand.

"Hunk, it seems Death has spared your again."

"How many times do I have to tell you Joseph? I am Death. Death never dies."

Joseph laughed. "A better poet, there is not. Do you have the G virus sample?"

Hunk chuckled. "Better. I have the virus and the vaccine."

Joseph laughed. "Excellent. Now, another matter that needs to be dealt with. According to security cameras in the house over there, there are survivors inside. The bosses don't want any survivors. Understood?"

Hunk shook his head. "No, they're innocent people. Plus, they have a little girl with them. They don't have to die!"

Joseph cocked his MP5. "Sorry Hunk. Orders are orders. You know that better than anyone. What was that?"

"What?"

"There! In the trees!"

Hunk spun around and cursed as he saw Claire move inbetween two trees.

"Damn woman." Hunk muttered as Joseph pushed past him, Hunk grabbed Joseph's arm. He spun the man around.

"I warned you Joseph!" Hunk grabbed Joseph's gun and put two bullets in Joseph's chest. Hunk took Joseph's gun from him and killed two of Joseph's men before they could react. Hunk grunted in pain as three bullets hit him in the left shoulder, two bullets struck his vest and the third struck meat.

Hunk dropped to his knee and fired the gun at the soldier that shot him. The soldier hit the ground as the silenced 9mm rounds ripped into his chest. Hunk dropped the empty gun and scooped up another just in time to get a bullet just above his right kneecap. Hunk groaned thru his gasmask as he fired at the last remaining soldier who hid behind the SUV. The bullets impacted the side of the hood, the last soldier leaned out and fired a single round. The bullet hit its mark and buried itself into Hunk's stomach. Hunk started to fall forward and caught himself with his left arm. The last soldier started to move towards Hunk who remained on his hands and knees. The soldier stopped and reloaded his gun. He raised the gun to his shoulder as Hunk looked up at him. Silenced gunshots filled the air and the soldier dropped dead, Hunk slowly turned and saw Claire standing there holding a smoking MP5.

Hunk chuckled as Claire helped him up. "Thought I told you to stay there."

"Fuck you."


	13. The Man under the Mask

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

**The Man under the Mask**

Claire entered the kitchen again and deposited Hunk into a chair.

"I'll go get Elza."

Hunk grabbed her arm. "No!"

Claire looked back at him. "Are you kidding? You just got shot like a dozen times!"

Hunk shook his head. "Not yet anyway. Not until you hear what I have to say. Sit."

Claire sat in the seat across from him. "What is it?"

Hunk breathed in and out thru his mask. "Before I go any further, I want you to understand something. I was hired to do a job, I did the job and I'm not proud of it. I don't work for Umbrella. I mean, I did but not anymore."

Claire removed her revolver and set it on the table. "If I don't like what you have to say, I will kill you."

Hunk nodded. "Fair enough. A man named Trent hired me. He works for Umbrella but at the same time he doesn't. You follow?"

"No."

"Okay, he works for Umbrella but he also works for someone else. They want to overthrow Umbrella because Umbrella has gotten too full of themselves. They wish to restore balance by getting rid of them. Understand?"

Claire nodded and he continued. "I'm not a good man. I try to be but the things I do…." He trailed off. "What I'm trying to say is, don't judge me. Please understand that nobody but Trent has seen my face and knows who I am but I trust you."

Claire laid her hand on her revolver. "Go on."

Hunk sighed. "Where to begin?" Hunk leaned forward. "Me and my team were instructed to retrieve a sample of the G virus from Doctor Birkin, Hodges and Robertson were the ones tasked with this. There was an accident, Birkin was shot. They got the samples only they missed one. Birkin injected himself and came after us. He killed all three members of my team and wounded me."

"Sounds like you're a lucky fucker." Claire grumbled.

Hunk nodded. "I was knocked out for quite some time, when I came to, you and your friends had already decended into the tunnel. I tried to distance myself but in the end, it didn't matter. Miss Wong was I guess you could say, 'the back-up plan' incase things went wrong which they did." Claire sat there in silence, none of what Hunk was saying mattered to her. Hunk leaned back in his chair. "I'm going to take off my mask now."

Hunk loosened the straps holding the gasmask in place, Claire cocked the hammer back incase Hunk tried anything. Hunk removed the mask and set it on the counter infront of him. Claire just stared at him in shock. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Hunk moved forward to wipe away the tear but Claire slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me!" She growled at him.

Hunk sighed. "I hoped you'd understand Claire. I'm asking you to forgive me." Claire just stared at the man. She couldn't believe it.

"How could you?" Claire slapped him.

Leon Scott Kennedy sighed. "We have a lot to talk about."

"How long? How long have you been working for them?"

Leon/Hunk shrugged. "Since I was sixteen. They had this youth training for people like me. When I was about seventeen or eighteen, I was shipped to Rockfort to begin my special training. After that, I went on missions for Umbrella."

Claire set the revolver on the table and folded her hands on the table. "Was everything you told me in the past 24 hours, a lie?"

Leon reached forward and grasped her hands, he could feel her try to pull away, he looked her right in the eye. "No. Not everything. You must understand Claire, I was taught that if anyone found out my identity I was supposed to kill them." Leon let go of her hands and removed the refrigeration unit from his belt and opened it. He set two vials infront of her. He pointed to the first one on her left. "That's the G virus." He pointed to the one next to it. "That's the vaccine."

Claire sighed. "I'm gonna get Elza."

Leon nodded. "What are you going to tell her?"

Claire stopped at the door, she hadn't thought about that because she was so mad at him. "Think of something. Better yet, lie. It's what you're good at."

Elza came into the kitchen moments later with her medical bag. When she asked Leon what happened, he told her that he was walking around cause he couldn't sleep, saw some guys out back and killed them but not before they got a couple of good shots in. Claire smiled bitterly as she stood at the door. Leon was such a good liar, she almost believed him. Elza finished wrapping him up and went back to her room, Claire talked to her for a brief minute. Elza looked back at Leon then nodded. Claire sat down again across from Leon, now heavily bandaged.

"So, what do we do now?" Claire asked as she looked down at the table, she couldn't even look him in the eye. She heard Leon grunt.

"Make a call to my boss Trent. Set up a meet. Deliver the goods."

Claire nodded. "What if you told him that you lost the vials?"

Leon shook his head. "No, Trent's a good guy. We can trust him."

"What about those guys last night? You said you could trust them?"

Leon sighed. "Those guys were sent by Spencer. There are security cameras in this house. Umbrella knows you're alive. They were sent to kill you and recover Sherry."

"Sherry? Why her?"

"Her body still has traces of the G virus inside of her."

Claire understood now, why Leon attacked those men last night. He was protecting them. She looked up at Leon as he removed a transmitter from a pocket on his vest. "What's that?"

"Transmitter. Provides a direct line to Trent. Got it off our friend back at the police department. Remember when I asked you to leave me in the hall so I could check to see if he was dead?"

Claire remembered. Leon plugged the transmitter into his radio and switched it on, Leon removed the headset and set the radio on the counter. Trent's cool voice came over the radio.

"Trent here."

"Trent, it's me."

"Ah, Agent Hunk. I see you have made it out of Raccoon in one piece?"

"Yeah, picked up some friends along the way."

"So I can see. If Miss Redfield can hear me, tell her to wave to her upper right."

Both of them looked and saw a video camera with a blinking red light.

"How did you"

Trent cut Leon off. "I have my resources. Now, regarding Ada Wong."

"She's dead. The Tyrant killed her."

"I see. And I know you procured a sample of the virus, correct?"

"And a sample of the vaccine." "Wonderful."

"Listen Trent, the pick up team last night."

"I know all about that. The order came from Spencer himself. I'm sorry if it caused you any inconvenience."

Leon grunted as he rotated his left shoulder. "Not a problem."

"Again, so I can see. Well, then. I suppose your best course of action is to come to New York."

"Wait, Mr. Trent. I'm trying to find my brother Chris and he"

"Your brother is fine for the moment. I once helped an associate of his, Ms. Jill Valentine, during the Mansion incident. So, I'm on good terms with them. All I can tell you is that Umbrella is watching his movements. Leon?"

"Sir."

"I've got satellite magnification on a vehicle moving towards your position. It's not Umbrella but someone else. Vehicle is civilian. Wait, the vehicle has stopped. Three occupants are getting out." There was a pause on the other end. "I've identified them. They are former STARS members David Trapp, John Andrews and Rebecca Chambers. I suggest you get in touch with them. Mention my name. That's all for now. I'll contact your later Leon."

Then the line disconnected.

Claire shook her head. "Weird."

Leon chuckled. "Tell me about it. Let's go say hi."


	14. Friends and Allies

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

**Friends and Allies**

David Trapp sighed as he pulled the rental SUV onto the breakdown lane of the small highway, he shut off the engine. John Andrews looked up from a muscle magazine.

"Almost there?"

David nodded. "Yeah, let's stretch our legs first though."

Both men nodded and exited the vehicle. John banged on the back passenger door.

"This is the police! Come out with your shirt up!" John yelled thru the open window, Rebecca Chambers sat up with a start.

Rebecca groaned as she caught sight of John. "Oh, great. It's the rent a cop." She muttered.

John laughed to himself as he walked off to take a piss. David opened the tailgate of the SUV and removed the blanket covering the back. About a dozen store bought rifles, shotguns and some pistols lay on the bed of the SUV. David sighed at the thought of using semi automatic rifles instead of full automatic military grade rifles like the police had but it would have to do.

Rebecca got out and started stretching. "How far are we David?"

David threw the blanket back over the weapons and closed the trunk. "Maybe a couple of hours."

Rebecca nodded and continued stretching. David heard something rustle behind him, he turned and drew his pistol in one motion. He saw two people exit the tree line: a man and a young woman. David slowly lowered his handgun when he saw they weren't armed. The man was wearing riot gear and was heavily bandaged while the young woman was alittle better off than her counterpart and was wearing a black T shirt and jeans.

The man in riot gear spoke. "Going to Raccoon? Let me give you some advice: Don't. Everyone's dead."

John came around the SUV. "Dead? As in?"

"As in they died, then they came back to life and started killing people." The young woman cut in.

John and David exchanged a worried look as Rebecca came around the SUV.

"Leon? Is that you? I can't believe it!" Rebecca ran past David and practically tackled Leon. Leon groaned as Rebecca impacted his chest.

"Yeah, it's me." He gently pushed the young woman off of him.

Rebecca turned to the young woman next to him. "Claire? Oh, my god! Claire Redfield!" She hugged the young Redfield as David and John approached them. Rebecca stepped back from Claire. "How are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Chris. Do you know where he is?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, he's somewhere in Europe."

Claire sighed. "Thank god for that. What are you doing here?"

Rebecca looked back at John and David. "We're here looking for Jill. Is she with you?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't know where she is. The entire police station was overrun when I got there. That's where I ran into Officer Leon here. How do you know him?"

"Oh, Leon? He came to the station a couple of months after the mansion incident. He was one of the cops that believed us about Umbrella."

Rebecca shot a look back at Leon then whispered to Claire. "He's kinda hot huh?"

Claire giggled. "Yeah, he's cute. Hey, thanks for this by the way."

Claire patted her belt. Rebecca's eyes slightly widened. "Hey! That's mine."

Claire laughed again. "Yeah, but it's a good fit."

Leon approached David and John, shaking hands with both. He pointed to John. "You must be John Andrews." He pointed at David. "And you're David Trapp." David and John exchanged a puzzled look, John asked.

"How did you"

Leon cut him off. "Trent. He said he's got us on satellite magnification right now. Come on, there's a house over here."

Elza stood at the front window with a steaming mug of coffee that Bryan had brewed that morning. She saw a SUV pulled up infront of the house, Leon and Claire got out of the back while three others got out of the front.

"Mike, Bryan! Leon and Claire are back with some new friends." She set the mug down and walked outside.

Rebecca came up to Elza. "Elza, how are you?" "Surviving at the moment. How are you?"

Rebecca sighed. "Things are tough at the moment, but we're doing okay. I assume you know about Umbrella?"

Elza nodded. "Just the quick and ugly version. Before you ask, I'm onboard with you guys. Mike and Bryan are as well."

Rebecca nodded. "It's good to see you again." Elza nodded and hugged the younger woman.

Rebecca stepped back and waved a hand at David and John. "This is David and John, they're STARS members like me."

Elza shook hands with them. "Nice to meet you both, come into the kitchen. Bryan's got coffee on."

David, Rebecca and John sat in the living room, David and John sipping cups of coffee.

John smiled. "This is damn good coffee."

"This is an Umbrella safe house and the coffee was here when we got here so"

John spit the coffee in his mouth back into the mug and stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sanitize my mouth. With _a lot_ of hot water."

John walked into the kitchen, Rebecca giggled as David set his mug down. "So, tell us what happened in Raccoon."

Leon and Claire began with their accounts of what they went thru: the police station, the Tyrant, the sewers and the secret lab. Mike, Bryan and Elza commented on several things as well. After they finished, Rebecca looked sick and David seemed frustrated. David looked up at them. "That all?"

Claire glanced over at Leon who shrugged. "Might as well tell them, they're gonna find out sooner or later."

Claire sighed and began to tell them about Leon's duplicity: the outbreak, William Birkin, Ada Wong, his boss Trent and the agents from last night. In about thirty seconds after Claire was done, Leon was face down on the floor with his right arm held behind him by David.

"Son of a bitch! God help me, I will break your fucking arm off!"

Rebecca was on her feet, furious. "You bastard!" She kicked Leon in the ribs. "I can't believe we trusted you!" She kicked him again.

Claire was on her feet and by Rebecca's side. "Becca, listen. I can understand why you're feeling this way. I felt the same way when he told me but the fact of the matter is, we should be lucky Leon's on our side."

Rebecca looked at Claire. "What'd you mean?" She asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Claire looked down at Leon. "We should tell them."

Leon nodded best as he could. "Uh, David? Could you let me up please?"

Claire put a hand on David's shoulder, David sighed and let Leon up. Leon flexed his right arm and disappeared into the kitchen as John came out.

"What'd I miss?"

Leon came out of the kitchen with the mini refrigeration unit, David was doing his best to restrain John.

"Ah, take it you told him." Leon asked as he sat down in one of the armchairs.

David nodded. "Now, what is it that you got that's so amazing?"

Leon opened the refrigeration unit and removed the G-virus vial. He held it up to Rebecca.

"I give you the G-virus."

Rebecca's eyes widened as Leon handed her the vial, she held it like it would break at the slightest touch.

Leon removed the vaccine. "And here's the cure."

Again, Rebecca's eyes widened.

"They both go to our friend Trent. He'll know what to do with it."

David picked up the vaccine. "If Trent's your boss, tell me something. Who does he work for?"

Leon cleared his throat. "You're all familiar with Umbrella correct?"

The three former STARS members nodded. Leon continued. "Umbrella in actuality is not the company that makes bio weapons and such. They do make the products we all see on TV. Basically, they're a front. Now, the real players are a company in Umbrella that the public doesn't know. White Umbrella. They're the ones responsible." This was news to Rebecca, John and David. "Trent works for White Umbrella as ironically, a co director. He started as a troubleshooter and worked his way up. Now, before you start hating our good friend, he confided something in me. His parents, when he was young, were responsible for testing the T-virus. They thought they were doing good work, something about finding the regeneration properties in the virus. They were killed because they were going to go public. The guys at White Umbrella never realized Trent was their son and he is slowly taking their operation apart by helping us. In short, Trent is risking everything by helping us." Leon pulled out his radio with the transmitter and switched it on. "You get all of that Trent?"

"Indeed Agent Hunk. Now that my identity is known to your associates, you can understand why I have given you this information."

David shook his head. "I don't understand. Why didn't you tell us this from the beginning?"

"If I told you I worked for Umbrella, would you have listened to me?"

John shrugged. "Man has a point."

Trent continued. "Yes, well. Agent Hunk?"

"Yeah, chief?"

"I can only keep the surveillance cameras offline for so long before Spencer knows something is amiss. I suggest you vacate the premises immediately. Hunk?"

"Sir?" "I have managed to keep your New York apartment in order for your return. As per your instructions last night, I have made all of the preparations on my end. Good luck to you."

"You as well. Out." Leon switched off the transmitter and slipped it back into his vest.

"Preparations? What kind of preparations?" David asked.

"I called Trent last night and gave him a list of supplies that we would need. Of course, this was before I knew you three were coming. Still, I think we should go."

It didn't take long for Leon and his company to pack up their belongings. David, John and Rebecca got back into their SUV along with Mike and Bryan. Leon went to the garage and backed out a black Ford Explorer. He loaded their gear into the back and Claire, Sherry and Elza got in. Leon pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road with David behind him.

Next chapter: Um... I don't have one written yet. Sorry.


	15. Guardian

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

**Chapter 15: Guardian**

The drive to New York was quiet in Leon's Explorer. Claire looked out the passenger window as Leon drove. Elza had fallen asleep despite all of the coffee she drank earlier, Sherry was still asleep. Claire glanced over at Leon who continued to focus on the road. Claire turned in her seat to face him, Leon saw her move out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah?"

Claire inhaled. "Tell me everything."

Leon chuckled ruefully. "I did, couple of hours ago. Don't you remember?"

Claire sighed. "No, I mean." She paused. "I mean, why do you do it?"

Leon sighed this time. "I can't really explain it. I have abilities that most people do not have. Like for example: I'm an expert in every firearm I can lay my hands on. Give me any household items and I'll make you a bomb inside of an hour. There's no sugarcoating it Claire. I am and will always be a soldier."

Claire just looked at him. "I want to tell you something Leon. When I look at you now, I see two people: The soldier and the cop I've known for the past couple of hours. I trusted one of those men. That trust was misplaced but I feel, you've more than made up for it in the past couple of hours. I feel I can trust you again. It's just...don't make me lose faith in you Leon, Hunk, whatever your name is."

Leon smiled but it was forced. "It's Leon. Hunk is my code name. You can call me whatever you want."

Claire nodded as she turned to look out the window. "You got it boss. So, where are we going after New York?"

"After New York, we're going to Paris where Umbrella's European Division is. Trent is going to set us up with a safehouse and we'll make contact with your brother and his friends. Sound good?"

Claire nodded as she settled back into her seat. It was quiet for another couple of minutes before another thought went thru Claire's head. "What's your apartment like?"

"Well, I haven't been to it in over acouple of months so I imagine it'll be alittle dusty."

Leon drove into an underground parking garage and David's SUV followed him. They unloaded their gear from the trunks of both vehicles and made for the elevator. Leon sighed as he glanced at the numbers slowly moving up until they stopped. He led the group into a very well furnished hallway and down to his apartment. He stopped at the all too familiar door and undid the deadbolt. He opened the door and ushered them in. Claire noticed several crates as she walked thru the door and into his kitchen. Leon's apartment was very stylish and most of the furniture looked like it cost quite a bit of money. Several sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses were in the middle of the living room with a note pinned to one of the sleeping bags. Leon removed the note and read it aloud.

"There's three extra bags for David, John and Miss Rebecca. Trent."

John shook his head as he set his bag down. "Creepy."

Leon shrugged. "You get used to it." Leon helped David and John set up the sleeping bags and mattresses.

Rebecca and Elza would take the mattresses, Leon offered his room to Claire and Sherry. David and John decided to sleep on the floor. Bryan slept on the couch while Mike tried in vain to stretch out on a loveseat. Claire, Elza and Sherry were given first run of the shower, Rebecca didn't need one. As Claire walked into the bathroom, she wondered where Leon was going to sleep.

Claire sighed as she slid inbetween the sheets of Leon's bed. She ruffled her still drying hair and laid her head against the pillow, she felt movement to her right and saw Sherry shifting in her sleep. Claire smiled and stared up at the ceiling. Claire couldn't see any of the room now on account of the lights being off. When she first walked into the room, she was surprised. She expected the room to be painted white and have very little furniture in it. Instead there was a queen sized four poster bed with bedside tables, an armchair in the corner across from the bed and dressers filled with clothing. Claire didn't see any pictures but then again, she wasn't surprised. On one of the dressers was a expensive stereo system that she only dreamed about having, a half dozen CDs next to it. Claire was surprised about the color Leon decided to paint the room as well, dark blue. Claire's thoughts were interrupted by Sherry's sudden erratic breathing, Claire gently put her hand on the young girl's shoulder and could almost feel the tension in the little girl's body. Sherry started to relax as Claire began to hum a lullaby, one her mother had sang to her when she was little. Sherry pulled the blankets up closer to her neck. Claire rolled onto her back again, staring up at the ceiling. That's when she heard it. Someone other than Sherry was breathing.

Claire laid perfectly still as her hand groped over to the bedside table where the lamp and her Browning were. As her fingers grabbed the pull cord for the lamp, a gruff whisper stopped her.

"Don't."

Claire hesitated, she knew that voice. She first heard it in the forests of Raccoon. 'Hunk. Or is it Leon?' She wondered. Claire let go of the lamp and laid back, she licked her lips and called out carefully.

"Leon?"

She heard him sigh then Leon's gentle voice filtered the darkness.

"Only if you want me to be."

Claire slowly sat up and looked around the room, trying to find him but her eyes couldn't focus. She saw a hand wave from where the armchair was.

"Here."

Suddenly a light clicked on by the armchair, Sherry groaned and pulled the covers over her head. Leon was sitting in the armchair, dressed in black and with a silenced Beretta on his knee. Leon's hand dropped from the pull cord of the lamp and landed on the butt of the pistol.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Awhile."

Claire nodded. "How long will you stay?"

"All night."

"Won't you be tired in the morning?" Claire already knew the answer but she wanted to know as Leon shook his head.

"I can go three days without sleep."

Claire smirked. "Thought soldiers could go longer."

Leon chuckled lightly. "It isn't like it is in the movies. Even we soldiers get tired."

Claire nodded. "Leon?"

"Hmm?"

Claire opened her mouth but thought better of it. "Nevermind. It's not important."

Leon nodded and switched off the light. Claire's eyes readjusted to the dark again and she fell asleep, knowing that Leon was asleep and Hunk was watching over her.

Claire groaned as she sat up the next morning, her hair a mess. Claire shot a look over at the armchair and saw Leon was gone, she glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. Claire dressed in the bathroom and exited the bedroom, making sure not to wake Sherry. Claire noticed that she was the only one up, John snoring loudly and David with his head under his pillow. Both Rebecca and Elza were sleeping with their hands over their ears. Claire giggled as she entered the kitchen to find Leon sitting at a large table, cleaning weapons. Leon stopped and looked up from his work.

"Hey. How'd you sleep?"

Claire smiled as she sat down across from him. "Fine. How about you?"

Leon chuckled. "Let me tell you something Claire. When this whole thing with Umbrella is over, I'll sleep for a month."

Both of them chuckled. Leon finished reassembling his Glock, put it aside, picked up Elza's revolver and a cleaning cloth and started cleaning the gun.

"Leon?"

"Hmm?" His tone light, like last night.

"When do you think this will be over?"

Leon stopped cleaning the gun, set it down and looked up at Claire. "I don't know. It's not going to happen overnight. We don't have any solid evidence what with Raccoon gone."

"What?"

Leon sighed heavily. "Trent contacted me earlier. Two hours after we left, Raccoon was destroyed in a surgical strike by the US military. It's gone."

Claire sat in stunned silence, she couldn't believe it. Leon continued. "Trent's on his way over. He'll be here soon. There's something else I wanted to talked to you about."

Claire looked up at Leon. "What?"

Leon sighed. "This isn't easy. I want to put Sherry in protective custody with Trent."

Claire stared at Leon for a second, letting it sink in. "What do you mean?"

Leon folded his hands on the table. "I want you to understand. We're going to Paris. We can't take her with us. We're going to be fighting on Umbrella's doorstep. We can't be taking care of her. What if Umbrella finds out where we're hiding?"

Claire nodded. "I understand. But I've got an idea about where we can take her."

There was a knock at the door. Leon stood up. "That'll be Trent."

Leon left the kitchen and Claire could hear him talk to someone then heard footsteps coming back. Leon sat in his original chair and the man who must have been Trent sat in a chair inbetween Leon and Claire, his back to the front door with Claire on his left and Leon on his right.


	16. A Change in Plan

Full Circle

Summary: What do a college girl, an abandoned little girl, a police detective have in common in a city full of undead? They're just trying to survive.

**A Change in Plan**

Claire looked at the man who Leon worked for, Trent. Trent wore a rather expensive suit, Armani or some other brand. Claire spotted a Omega watch on Trent's left wrist. Trent's black hair was slicked back, he was clean shaven and he had a constant smile on his face. Trent folded his hands on the table and cleared his throat.

"I'm sure you would like to get down to business before your flight?"

Both Leon and Claire nodded then Claire spoke. "Mr. Trent, I hope you can understand. I would like to leave Sherry in the care of someone else, someone I know."

Trent held up a hand and smiled. "I understand perfectly, my dear."

"Claire?" Leon questioned.

"I'll tell you when we get going. Good news is that they live in upstate New York, an hour or so drive."

Leon nodded. Trent nodded as well. "That's acceptable. If I may, who do you have in mind?"

Leon sighed as he turned a corner onto a residential street. "Hope this is a good idea."

Claire nodded. "That makes two of us."

"You realize Umbrella could come after them to get to her?"

Claire shook her head. "He's an Air Force general, if they go after him that's bad press for them."

Leon smirked. "Alright. We're here." He pulled up infront of a two story Colonial home. Claire got out of the Explorer, opened the back door and scooped Sherry into her arms. Leon got out as well and zipped up his coat, concealing his Glock. Claire walked up to the front door and rang the bell. After a minute the door opened and a man about Leon's height with salt and pepper hair stood infront of Claire, a woman stood just behind the older man, she was about Claire's height. Both of them had looks of shock on their faces.

"Claire?" The older man asked.

"Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom."

Leon stood in the living room, glancing at the pictures on the fireplace while Claire was talking with her parents. Leon picked up a picture that caught his eye and made him smile. A young Claire Redfield, probably around eight and with her two front teeth missing, smiled at the camera. Leon sighed and placed the picture back on the mantle and out of the corner of his eye, saw Claire's father enter the room. He offered Leon a glass filled with three finger's worth of amber liquid. Leon nodded and accepted the glass from him then took a sip. Claire's father beckoned Leon to an armchair then sat opposite him.

"So, Leon. Claire's told me all about you."

'Uh-oh.' Leon thought. "What'd she say?"

The elder Redfield took a sip from his glass. "You're like me. A soldier. A soldier that has changed sides."

"For the better." Leon interjected.

Claire's father nodded. "If I may, Mr. Um?"

"Kennedy."

"Kennedy. Is that any relation to General Thomas Kennedy?"

"Yes, sir. He's my father."

The older man chuckled. "Your father and I met before. Vietnam. If you see him, tell him that Redfield still owes him one. Back to the matter at hand, are you and my daughter..."

Claire's father let the question hang in the air as Leon took another sip from his glass.

"Close?" Leon offered, he continued. "Mr. Redfield, I mean no disrespect but your daughter is a beautiful and talented young woman. And while I do find her attractive, I feel that I shouldn't get close. You see, bad things happen to people who get close to me. Which is why I want Claire to stay here with you while I go to Europe. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Nor would I."

"Of course not, it's just: Claire's not cut out for this kind of thing. She doesn't have the kind of training I or our friends do. I'm worried about her safety."

Claire's father nodded. "If you feel that is the best course of action."

"I do, Mr. Redfield."

"Ben, please."

Claire walked downstairs from her old bedroom and stood outside the living room. She could hear Leon and her dad speaking to each other. Claire leaned against the frame and almost went into shock when her dad asked if Leon and her were 'involved'. Claire was saddened when she heard Leon's answer but her sadness turned to anger when she heard Leon say that he wanted Claire to stay behind while he and the others went to Europe. She heard her dad say he was going upstairs and came towards the door. He opened the door and saw Claire standing there with fire in her eyes. Ben glanced back at Leon then at Claire.

"Good night, honey."

"Night, dad." Claire moved past him and sat down in Ben's chair. Leon sipped his drink.

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it."

He exhaled. "Try to see it from"

"Don't give me that bullshit. You're afraid aren't you?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, I am. I'm worried about you."

"I can handle myself but…"

Leon set his glass down and leaned forward. "But what?" Claire leaned forward and put her head in her hands. Leon grasped her hands in his. "What is it?"

Claire sighed. "I'm not like you."

Leon let go of her hands and sat back. "That's it? 'I'm not like you'?" Claire nodded as Leon stood up. "You're not like me? Good! Nobody should be like me. You think I like being like this? I'm a monster Claire. I always will be."

Claire stood up as well and took his hands in hers. "No, you're not. You saved lives. You're not a monster."

Leon shook his head. "No, I'll always be a monster, a killer. I'll just wear a different mask."

Claire just stood there, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm not afraid of you Leon."

Leon smiled and it was forced. "I am and you should be."

Claire shook her head and closed the distance between them. "I'll never be afraid of you."

Claire leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his. Leon gently pushed away. "Don't, Claire."

Claire licked her lips and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I'm not sure what I was thinking."

Claire started to walk away when Leon suddenly grabbed her by the arm. She turned to look at him. "Ah, fuck it."

He breathed. He pulled Claire close to him and kissed her on the lips.

One more chapter to go.


	17. Of Things to Come

Full Circle

**Of things to come**

Leon waited by the open driver of the SUV as Claire said good bye to her parents and to Sherry. Ben came down from the porch with a wrapped bundle in his hands and approached Leon.

"Here. This served me well in Vietnam. Use it to protect my daughter."

Leon unwrapped the bundle to reveal a Colt 1911A1 .45 pistol. The entire gun was painted matte black.

"Thank you."

"I modified the barrel to fire rounds more powerfully, I gave it a reinforced combat slide and barrel so it'll do well in shitty situations. And some other modifications as well."

Leon nodded. "Thanks." Leon wrapped the gun again and placed it in the car.

Ben patted the young man on the shoulder. "Good bye Leon. Hope to see you again soon."

"You too, sir." Ben walked back to the house, gave Claire a hug then joined his wife and Sherry on the porch. Claire climbed into the SUV and gave a last wave towards Sherry who waved back. Claire turned to Leon as he started the car.

"Will we see her again?"

Leon smiled and nodded. "When it's over."

Claire sighed. "Let's hope that's soon."

Leon sighed as well and shifted the car into gear.

The drive to airport was quick, Leon and Claire just drove in silence. They drove past a gate and onto the airfield where their plane waited. The rest of the group was already there, loading the gear into the plane. John and David were loading the bags into the plane while Elza and Rebecca boarded the plane. Mike and Bryan were going to stay in New York and get in touch with New York STARS branch and apprise them of the situation. Leon loaded their bags and closed the hatch, Claire and the rest boarded the plane. The ground crew closed the door after Leon boarded the small plane. John looked over at Leon as he buckled himself in.

"So, where'd we get this guy from?"

"The pilot? He usually flies low level deliveries for Umbrella but Trent knows him pretty well."

Rebecca spoke this time. "So, what kind of support can we expect from Trent on this one?"

"Unfortunately, none. Trent will only be able to provide us with logistical support."

Leon paused, a thought coming to him. "What? What is it?" Claire asked as the plane took off.

"I got an idea about getting some help. I'll have to make some calls to Trent."

A few hours later…

Claire had fallen asleep and was leaning against Leon's arm. Rebecca and Eliza were fast asleep, John was reading a magazine and David was taking some notes. Leon was still awake, he decided to call Trent so he moved out from his seat, making sure not to wake Claire and made his way to the cockpit. Leon sat down in the copilot's chair and tuned the radio as he slipped on a headset.

"Trent, you there?"

"Always, Agent Kennedy. What do you need?"

"I had an idea about getting us some help. It's gonna sound crazy but it should work."

Leon told Trent his idea, he could hear Trent chuckling on the end of the line.

"I love what you're thinking. I think it will work. It will take some careful planning but it should work. I'll make some calls, try to do it discreetly. However, there's something else."

"Such as?"

"I received a call yesterday from a operative at an Umbrella facility. He said the facility he works at as begun an experiment of some kind and it would be worthy of my attention."

"What's the experiment?"

"He's not sure but from what he's heard, it has something to do with the Tyrant models."

"Well, that can't be very good."

"I agree. He said he could smuggle some data out, he just needs someone to come and pick it up."

"Okay, I can do that."

"There is one catch, I'm afraid. The person in question has to be a doctor because he is one as well and he has informed Umbrella that he needs an assistant. And well, the assistant has to be a woman. Not by his choice mind you."

"Well, that's kind of limiting my options Trent. Rebecca Chambers has some medical training but I'm sure Umbrella has her picture. Claire doesn't have any medical training and Elza Walker is an EMT."

"Well, whoever you decide, they have to go to the facility, get the data then leave. I estimate that it will take one to two days minimum."

"Sounds fine Trent but I want somebody to go also."

"Such as?"

"A friend of mine, he's also in the USF so he'll pass their screening. Get ahold of him, his name is Sergeant Ark Thompson."

Claire woke up as Leon slid back into his seat.

"What's up?"

"Hmm? Oh, we'll be landing soon."

Claire yawned. "Did you call Trent?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, listen. Trent asked for a favor."

"Oh?"

"He needs someone to go to an Umbrella facility and retrieve some data."

"Doesn't sound so bad."

"Has to be one of us."

"Not a problem."

"Has to be a woman."

There was a short pause as Claire processed what he said.

"Wait, you want me"

"No, someone with medical training. Either Rebecca or Elza. Unfortunately, Rebecca's picture is in Umbrella's database and Elza's isn't."

"Have you told her?"

"Not yet. I just got off the phone with Trent. Good news is she won't be going alone and she won't be there long. Two days max."

"Is there any bad news?"

Leon shrugged. "Not sure. Elza just has to pretend she works for Umbrella then get out."

"I think you better tell her now."

"No need." Came a voice from behind them. Elza peered over the top of the seats. "I heard everything."

Leon sighed. "Elza, if you don't want to"

"I'll do it."

Leon looked at Elza then at Claire. "That was easy."

"So, I'll be going alone?"

"No, you're going with a first rate guy. He works for Umbrella but he feels the way I do. He just…."

"Just what?"

"Has a weird sense of humor."

"Anything else?"

"No, a helicopter will fly you to the island"

"Whoa! Island? You didn't say it was on an island!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"I hate the water. I almost drowned once when I was six, ever since then I won't even take a bath."

Leon arched an eyebrow. "Better not tell Ark that. He might tease you with a cup of water."

"If he does, I'll shove a syringe up his ass."

"You'll get along fine then, you leave tomorrow."

The plane landed at a private airport, one that was owned by Umbrella. A car sent by Trent picked them up and their luggage and drove them out to the country. The car stopped infront of a large mansion that in Rebecca's mind reminded her of the Spencer estate. The group and their gear were dropped off and the car sped away. After stacking their gear into a medium sized room that would serve as their armory/equipment room, Leon divided up the rooms. Everyone had their own room since there was 14 bedrooms. Leon and Claire got separate bedrooms but they were linked with a shared bathroom. Leon tossed and turned as he struggled to stop thinking about Claire who was at the moment, laying awake and staring up at the ceiling and thinking about Leon. Leon finally threw off the bed covers and went into the bathroom, he got a drink and paced the room. He stopped infront of Claire's door and rested his forehead against it. Claire got up from her bed and went to the bathroom door and leaned up against it. Leon's fingers touched the handle but he retracted when the door opened and he was staring Claire in the face.

"Hi." He said simply.

Claire smiled slightly. "Hi."

Leon closed the distance between them. He reached for Claire and gently touched her cheek. Claire leaned her head into his open palm. Leon bent forward and kissed her on the lips. Claire broke the kiss and grasped his hand, she led him back to her bedroom and sat him on the bed. She removed the band holding her ponytail together and let her hair fall across her shoulders.

"You're beautiful."

Claire straddled Leon and kissed him again on the lips. Leon stopped her. "I want to but."

He let the sentence hang in the air.

Claire nodded. "It's okay," she whispered. "You don't have to."

Claire got off of him and laid down on the bed next to him. Leon laid down as well, Claire laid her head on his chest and draped her arm over his stomach.

"It's been awhile since I slept in a real bed."

Claire chuckled softly. "It'll come back to you."

Claire pushed up Leon's shirt, revealing his scars.

"Do they bother you?"

Claire absently traced one of them. "No. Tell me about some of them."

"Um, don't know where to start."

"Tell me about these." Claire traced her fingers along three scratches that ran horizontally along his stomach.

"B.O.W training. A creature called a Hunter did that. I was careless."

Claire leaned down and kissed all three scars. "What about this one?"

She pointed to a thin line where his left lung was.

"My drill instructor was bit of a hardass, my training was pretty rough. He stabbed me."

"On purpose?"

"No, training exercise. Hand to hand combat. Wasn't fast enough."

Claire kissed that one as well.

Claire pulled down his shirt and rested her head on his chest again.

"Claire?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you love me?"

Claire sat up and looked Leon in the eye.

"Yes, of course. Why?"

"It's nothing. It's just that, I've never fallen in love before."

Claire smiled, she cupped his face with her hand. "Neither have I." Claire laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Good night Leon."

"Good night Claire. And I love you too."

Claire smiled as she drifted off to sleep, not thinking about monsters or what was to come but about Leon.

The end. For now.


End file.
